
Class (_ 

Book 

Gop}iighti\'"_ 



COFIRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE 

ANCIENT WORLD 

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 800 A.D. 

BY 

FRANCIS S. BETTEN, SJ. 

TEACHER OF HISTORY AT ST. IGNATIUS COLLEGE, CLEVELAND, OHIO 

AND AT CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCHOOL 

OMAHA, NEBRASKA 



o>Kc 



ALLYN AND BACON 
Boston Neijj gorit Cbicago 






COPYRIGHT. 1916, BY 
FRANCIS S. BETTEN. S.J. 



SEP II i9!6 



Xorluooti ^rrss 

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CU437781 



PREFACE 

Sincere thanks are due both to Professor Willis M. West 
and to Messrs. Allyn and Bacon for the complete liberty they 
have granted in utilizing and altering the Ancient World. The 
author of the revision is alone responsible for all the changes 
introduced into the new book. It contains rather too much 
than too little matter, and it will be the duty of the teacher 
to select what he thinks should be studied and what should 
be omitted or, perhaps, made the subject of cursory reading. 
The principles guiding the selection of books recommended for 
reading are laid down in the note preceding the booklist at the 
end of the volume. 

May the book, presented in so attractive a shape by the 

publishers, be found helpful in promoting the great cause of 

Catholic education. 

FRANCIS S. BETTEN, S.J. 

St. Ignatius College, Cleveland, O. 



m 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGB 

List of Illustrations . vii 



List of Maps and Plans 
Introduction . 



XI 

xiii 



PART I— THE ORIENT 

CHAPTER 

A. Mankind Undivided 

I. B. Historic Nations of the Orient 

II. Egypt 

III. The Tigris-Euphrates States 

IV. The Middle States — Phoenicians and Hebrews 
V. The Persian Empire 

VI. Summary of Oriental Civilization 



1 

11 
15 
50 
72 
86 
96 



PART II — THE GREEKS 

VII. The Influence of Geography 

VIII. How we know about Prehistoric Hellas 

IX. The First (Cretan) Civilization . 

X. The Homeric Age 

XI. From the Achaeans to the I*ersian Wars 

XII. The Persian Wars 

XIII. Athenian Leadership : The Age of Pericles 

XIV. Life in the Age of Pericles .... 
XV. The Peloponnesian War .... 

XVI. From the Fall of Athens to the Fall of Hellas, 404-338 



99 
105 
111 
120 
130 
167 
191 
234 
246 
254 



PART III — THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD 

XVII. Mingling of East and West — Alexander and His Conquests 
XVIII. The Widespread Hellenistic World 



267 
277 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



1. Reindeer, drawn by Cave-men in France and in Switzerland 

2. Prehistoric Stone Daggers from Scandinavia 

3. Series of Axes; Old Stone, New Stone, and Bronze Ages . 

4. Some Stages in Fire-making. From Tylor 

6. Portion of the Rosetta Stone, containing the hieroglyphs first 

deciphered 

6. Part of the Rosetta Inscription, on a larger scale 

7. Photograph of Modern Egyptian sitting by a Sculptured Head 

of an Ancient King ; to show likeness of feature . 

8. Boatmen fighting on the Nile. Egyptian relief . 

9. A Capital from Karnak. From Liibke .... 

10. Portrait Statue of Amten, a self-made noble of 3200 b.c. . 

11. Egyptian Noble hunting Waterfowl on the Nile. After Maspero 

12. Temple of Luxor 

13. Egyptian Plow. From Rawlinson 

14. Market Scene. An Egyptian relief . 

15. Shoemakers. Egyptian relief ; from Maspero 

16. Sphinx and Pyramids. From a photograph 

17. Vertical Section of the Great Pyramid 

18. Ra-Hotep; perhaps the oldest portrait statue in existence 

19. Princess Nefert ; a portrait statue 5000 years old 

20. Temple of Edfu 

21. A Relief from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera 

22. Egyptian Numerals 

23. Isis and Horus 

24. Sculptured Funeral Couch ; picturing the soul crouching by the 

mummy 

25. A Tomb Painting ; showing offerings to the dead 

vii 



PAGE 

2 



Vlll 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



IS and 



26. Weighing the Soul before the Judges of the Dead 

relief ..... 

27. Cheops (Khufii). A portrait statue . 

28. Sculptors at Work. An Egyptian relief . 

29. Thutmosis III 

30. Rameses II 

31. Psammetichus in Hieroglyphs 

32. Neco in Hieroglyphs 

33. Nabuchodonosor in Cuneiform Characters . 

34. Colossal Man-beast, from the Palace of Sargon 

35. Assyrian Contract Tablet in Duplicate 

36. Assyrian Tablets ; showing the older hieroglypl 

cuneiform eciuivalents in parallel columns 

37. An Assyrian '' Book " 

38. An Assyrian Dog. A relief on a clay tablet 

39. Assyrian " Deluge Tablet*' 

40. Assyrian Cylinder Seals .... 

41. Impression from a Royal Seal 

42. A Lion Hunt. An Assyrian relief 

43. Section of the Temple of the Seven Spheres ; 

" restoration " by Rawlinson 

44. Parts of Alphabets 

46. Growth of the Letter A . . . . 

46. The Temple of Solomon .... 

47. Jerusalem To-day, with the road to Bethlehem 

48. Impression from a Persian Cylinder Seal . 

49. Persian Queen. A fragment of a bronze statue 

50. Persian Bronze Lion, at Susa 

51. Persian Jewelry 

52. Scene in the Vale of Tempe. From a photograph 

53. Bronze Dagger from Mycenae, inlaid with gold 

54. The Gate of the Lions at Mycenae 

55. IMouth of the Palace Sewer at Knossos, 2200 

cotta drain pipes. From Baikie . 

56. Head of a Bull. From a relief at Knossos 



Egyptian 



the 



according to 



with 



later 



terra- 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



IX 



PAGE 

67. The Vaphio Cups, of 1800 or 2000 B.c 112 

58. Scroll from the Vaphio Cups, showing stages in netting and 

taming wild bulls. From Perrot and Chipiez . . .113 

50. Vase from Knossos (about 2200 b.c), with sea-life ornament . 114 

60. Cretan Writing 115 

01. " Throne of Minos." From Baikie 116 

62. Cooking Utensils ; found in one tomb at Knossos . . .117 

63. Cretan Vase of Late Period (1600 b.c), with conventionalized 

ornament . . . . . . . . . .118 

64:. Ruins of the Entrance to the Stadium at Olympia . . . 133 

65. Ruins of Athletic Field at Delphi 137 

66. Greek Soldier 148 

67. Ground Plan of Temple of Theseus at Athens .... 158 

68. Doric Column, with explanations. From the Temple of The- 

seus ........... 159 

69. Ionic Column 159 

70. Corinthian Column 159 

71. A Doric Capital. From a photograph of a detail of the Par- 

thenon 160 

72. West Front of the Parthenon To-day ; to illustrate Doric style 1(52 

73. West Front of Temple of Victory at Athens ; to illustrate Ionic 

style 163 

74. Marathon To-day. From a photograph 175 

75. Thermopylae. From a photograph 182 

76. The Bay of Salamis. From a photograph .... 185 

77. Pericles. A portrait bust ; now in the Vatican . . . 200 

78. Side View of a Trireme. From an Athenian relief . . . 201 

79. The Acropolis To-day 214 

80. Propylaea of the Acropolis To-day ...... 215 

81. Erechtheum and Parthenon 216 

82. Figures from the Parthenon Frieze 217 

83. Sophocles. A portrait statue ; now in the Lateran . . .218 

84. Theater of Dionysus at Athens 219 

85. Thucydides. A portrait bust ; now in the Capitoline Museum 221 

86. The Acropolis as ".restored" by Lambert .... 225 



X ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

87. Women at their Toilet. Two parts of a vase painting . . 228, 

88. Greek Women at their Music. From a vase painting . . 229 

89. Plan of a Fifth-century Delos House. After Gardiner and 

Jevons 235 

90. Greek Girls at Play. From a vase painting .... 237 

91. A Vase Painting showing Paris enticing away Helen . . 238 

92. Greek Women, in various activities. A vase painting . . 240 

93. A Barber in Terra-cotta. From Bliimner . . . .241 

94. Athene 242 

95. School Scenes. A bowl painting 244 

96. Route of the Long Walls of Athens. From a recent photo- 

graph 252 

97. The Hermes of Praxiteles 258 

98. Philip II of Macedon. From a gold medallion struck by Alex- 

ander 264 

99. Alexander. From a gold medallion of Tarsus . . . 268 

100. Alexander in a Lion-hunt. Reverse side of the above . . 268 

101. Alexander. The Copenhagen head 269 

102. Alexander as Apollo. Now in the Capitoline .... 273 

103. Pylon of Ptolemy III at Karnak 276 



MAPS AND PLANS 



PAGE 



1. The Field of Ancient History 9 

2. The First Homes of Civilization. Full page, colored after 12 

3. Ancient Egypt 16 

4. Egyptian Empire at its Greatest Extent 45 

5. Assyrian and Babylonian Empire 55 

6. Egypt 76 

7. Syria, showing Dominion of Solomon and Other Features of 

Hebrew History 77 

8. Lydia, Media, Egypt, and Babylonia, about 560 b.c. Full page, 

colored after 86 

9. The Persian Empire. Full page, colored . . . after 88 

10. Greece and the Adjoining Coasts. Double page, colored after 98 

11. The Greek Peninsula. Double page, colored . . after 102 

12. The Greek World. (For general reference.) Double page, 

colored after 136 

13. Peloponnesian League 169 

14. Plan of Marathon 174 

15. Attica, with reference to Marathon and Salamis . . . 184 

16. Athens and its Ports, showing the " Long Walls" . . . 193 

17. Athenian Empire. Full page, colored . . . after 202 

18. Plan of Athens , . 206 

19. The Acropolis at Athens 213 

20. Greece at the Beginning of the Peloponnesian War. Full page, 

colored after 250 

21. Plan of the Battle of Leuctra 260 

22. Greece under Theban Supremacy. Full page, colored after 262 

23. The Growth of Macedonia 265 

24. Campaigns and Empire of Alexander the Great. Full page, 

colored after 270 

25. The Achaean and Aetolian Leagues 287 

26. The World according to Eratosthenes 297 

xi 



THE ANCIENT WORLD 



INTRODUCTION 



Historical Sources. — The student learns of the many events 
and facts which make up the history of mankind from the 
historical books written and published in our own time. 
But how do the authors 
of these books know 
what happened centuries 
ago ? They consult what 
we call the sources of 
history. There are three 
kinds of such sources : 

(1) Oral Traditions. — 
The stories of happen- 
ings of the past if handed 
down and propagated by 
word of mouth only, 
are called oral traditions. 
These stories tell of the 
deeds of prominent men, 
both good and bad, or 
of the beginnings and 
vicissitudes of nations, 
and frequently they re- 
late to matters of relig- 
ion. Many, perhaps the greatest part of them, have undergone 
changes in the course of time and have become more or less 
fabulous. But historians often discover even in these a certain 




Prehistoric Stone Daggers. 



XIV INTRODUCTION 

iimoimt of truth, though it may be obscured by legendary 
lietioiis. 

(2) Belies. — By relies we understand the weapons, tools, 
household things, articles of ornament, etc., which were used 
by men of former ages ; also their works of art, the ruins of 
their buildings, the very remains of their tU\ul buried in simple 



eT'COsLoqiieB.VNTCiR 

^ c[ui\ iNipoit^TvreerurRTuie 
I impeRxispiRnmus 



Facsimile fkom ihk (\ii>k\ Amiaum t< oi- thk Latin Bir.LK. 

ET FACrrs EST TAVOK IX OMXUU'S ET rOLLO^>l'Kl?ANTl U AD 
IXVICEM DICKXTE8 QUOO EST HOC VEUIU^M QUIA IX TOTESTATE 
ET VIKTl TE IMTEKAT SriKITllUS IMMUXDIS ET EXEUXT 

Antf there came fear uinin all, and theij talked anionij thetnselre.^, sai/ifuj : 
What word is this, for with authoriti/ and power he eommandeth the unclean 
spirits, and the;/ <7o out .^ I.uke iv. i^». 

Am-iont niamisi'ript copies of iminn-tant books, siu'h as tlio Biblo. aro osilled 
Coiiii'os. The Codex Amiatimis was orii;inally preserved in the Italian 
monastery of Aniiatjv, but is now in a library of Florence, Italy. It was 
written, about the year a. p. o41, by the Abbot Servandus. disciple of St. 
Benedict. 

graves or elaborate mausoleums : finally the pictorial repre- 
sentations in painting and sculpture. 

(o) Written Ixeeonl.^, inscriptions and especially manuscript 
or printeil books, coming from persons who are both able and 
willing to tell the truth. It does not matter whether or not 
the author lived at the time the events he describes took place, 
proviiicil it is known that he used reliable sources. 



THE BIBLE XV 

The Bible. — The noblest of all the written records concern- 
ing the history of mankind is the Bible. God himself is 
the author of this Book of Books ; those whom we call the 
authors of its various parts acted, as it were, only as God's 
secretaries. They wrote down what God " inspired " them to 
write ; the knowledge of the various facts and truths they 
obtiihied partly through direct revelation from God, partly 
as a result of their own eiforts ; but God put the seal of 
His authorship upon whatever they actually embodied in 
their work. 

The purpose of this divine condescension was man's eternal 
salvation by a supernatural life ; no error, therefore, regarding 
faith and morals could ever find its way into the Bible. God 
did not intend, however, to furnish the world with a handbook 
of geology or astronomy or history, or to advance man directly 
in any of these or other sciences ; hence the sacred writers 
when touching upon such matters simply reflected the views, 
scientific or popular, of their own time and surroundings. 
Their books, if judged by this standard, were in the beginning 
free from any error. It is not absolutely impossible, however, 
that errors concerning secular matters, figures, for instance, 
should have crept in later through the fault of copyists. Pope 
Leo XIII warns us not to be hasty in presuming such errors ; 
the scrupulous care always taken for the preservation of this 
most important document of revealed religion does not make 
it likely that they are numerous. 

'' The Bible is not the oldest book in the world. Xo writ- 
ing, however, no document on stone or clay, no hieroglyphic 
or cuneiform inscription takes us back to the primitive history 
of mankind, as told on the first pages of the Bible. The sacred 
writer drew his information primarily from Divine Revelation, 
but an unbroken tradition and ancient documents were also at 
his disposal." {Outlines of Bible Knowledge, Edited by Arch- 
bishop Messmer, p. 11.) 

After briefly acquainting us with the general history of the 
first times of mankind. Holy Writ confines itself to the 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

development, successes aud failures of the chosen people of 
God, the Hebrews, but it is full of references to other nations 
and their rulers.^ 

Great care must be exercised when assigning dates to remote events. 
Relics, and not only tlie ruder ones, frequently leave us without the 
slightest clew as to the time when they were in actual use. Much of the 
idle conjectures in so-called popular histories is due to rash conclusions 
which ignore this fact. 

Evolution.^ — It has been observed that some plants as well 
as animals undergo changes when they are acted upon in vari- 
ous ways by their surroundings. There are many interesting 
instances of such adaptations. But they are not so numerous 
as people are often led to think. So-called popular scientific 
works often enlarge upon them in a manner which is entirely 
unwarranted by facts. They maintain without the slightest 
proof, that lifeless matter, under the influence of heat, pressure' 
or electricity, may " evolve " into a plant, and a plant, large or 
small, into an animal. Nothing has ever been discovered or 
observed to substantiate such a preposterous statement. 

But it is the height of folly to maintain that man himself, 
body and soul, has " evolved " from some beast. The human 
soul can only come directly from God. Not even man's body 
has " evolved " from that of a beast. Holy Scripture tells us 
how the first men were created. 

Hence the supposition that rational man is a mere product of natural 
evolution and that his first stages were spent in the lowest savagery is 
without foundation and directly contrary to our Faith. It is an error of 
many modern histories which seek to explain human development, in- 
tellectual, political, and religious, as independent of God the Creator and 
His Providence. Human development in as far as it is natural depends 
upon the exercise of man's natural faculties and not upon some inani- 
mate or fatalistic force which has its origin in the mere powers of matter. 

1 For editions of the Bible, see Appendix. 

2 The teacher may postpone the study of this section and the following to 
some time later in the year, that is, if he sees fit to make it an object of 
recitation at all. He may explain the matter orally or refer to these pages as 
occasion requires. 



CIVILIZATION 



xvii 



Civilization. — We live in a civilized country. We have good 
houses, build beautiful churches and schools, and splendid 
cities, and a good government preserves order in the land. A 
farming class tills the soil and thereby provides food for the 
whole population. Other peoples live a different life. Their 
dwellings are the rudest kind of huts or tents or even caverns 
in the ground. Such peoples 
we say are not civilized at all, 
or at any rate, they are on the 
lowest level of civilization. 

We speak of material civiliza- 
tion, by which we mean the con- 
trol and employment of nature, 
its treasures and its forces, as 
the fruits of the earth, the 
metals, wind, lire, water, elec- 
tricity. Intellectual civilization 
stands higher ; it shows itself 
in the pursuit of learning and 
all kinds of art. There is also 
a social civilization ; it consists 
in good government, in a cer- 
tain refinement of manners, and above all in the integrity of 
family life, which is the natural foundation of society. But 
higher than all this is religious and moral civilization. Indi- 
vidual man as well as the whole race must pay due respect to 
the Creator and observe the laws which God has given. A 
nation which is wanting in this lacks the most necessary 
element in true civilization. These sundry elements, however, 
are not separated from one another by hard and fast lines. 
Many features of a nation's life may be classed under several 
of them. 

The terms " savagery " and " barbarism " are often used to 
denote the lowest and a somewhat higher degree of civilization. 
But care is required in using them. They are frequently 
meant to denote not only rude material conditions, but also in- 




2, 3, Stone Axes. 
Bronze Axe. 



XVlll 



INTRODUCTION 




Reindeer, by Cave-Dwellers (Stone Age). 
On slate, in France. On horn, in Switzerland. 

(For some thousands of years, tlie reindeer has been extinct in these countries. 
Compare these drawings with modern pictures for accuracy of detail ; and note 
the remarkable spirit and action depicted by the prehistoric artists.) 

tellectual inferiority, and even a low standing of morality. Yet 
a primitive people may display a keen mental acumen or 
possess a great purity of morals and correct religious ideas. 



For Further Reading if Desired. — Charles S. Devas, Key to the 
World's Progress, Part I; E. A. Hull, S.J., Civilization and Culture. 
Each, however, defines civilization somewhat differently. 



PART I. -THE ORIENT 

CHAPTER I 

A. MANKIND UNDIVIDED 

1. From the Creation to the Deluge. — "In the beginning 
God created heaven and earth." In six periods of uncertain 
duration called " days," the dwelling place of intellectual man 
was prepared. Then " God formed man of the slime of the 
earth and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man 
became a living soul." Man thus came directly from the 
hands of his Creator, endowed with perfect faculties of 
body and soul, and with a wonderful knowledge of the natural 
things which surrounded him. To make Adam the true foun- 
tainhead of mankind, the first woman. Eve, was created from 
his body. She was to be his " helpmate " in the occupations 
of his earthly existence, but his perfect equal in the vocation 
to eternal life. Thus God established matrimony. 

God had raised man from the beginning to an essentially 
higher level by endowing him with Sanctifying Grace which 
elevated him to a supernatural order. He had besides bestowed 
upon him preternatural gifts, as the immortality of the body 
and freedom from tribulations and diseases. But unfortunately 
Adam did not stand the test of fidelity and lost Sanctifying 
Grace together with these gifts for himself as well as his entire 
posterity. In his mercy, however, God promised a Redeemer 
who was to atone for the offences against his Divine Majesty 
and regain for mankind the possibility of entering into Heaven. 

Soon there must have been a kind of patriarchal community, 
consisting of the children and children's children of Adam who 

1 



2 MANKIND UNDIVIDED [§ 1 

was its head. The descendants of Adam's first-born son, Cain, 
excelled in material progress. They were masters in the use of 
musical instruments and possessed great skill in the working 
of bronze and iron. But also the relaxation of the marriage 
tie is on their short record in Holy Writ. The descendants of 
Setli, another son of Adam, devoted themselves more to a life 
of piety. Both these clans found their sympathizers and ad- 
herents. But intermarriages finally brought about a general 
decline of morals. " The wickedness upon earth was great." 
Only Noe and several of his family " walked with the 
Lord." 

The Deluge. — God now resolved to destroy all mankind by 
a vast inundation which we call the Deluge. Noe alone with 
seven other souls was saved in the Ark, a huge craft built by 
him at God's command. It is difficult for us to form an ade- 
quate idea of the terrible catastrophe, the result of which was 
a wholesale destruction of the entire human race. The Ark 
finally landed somewhere in Armenia. From here the rapidly 
increasing population began to spread over the whole earth. 
The inhabitants of a plain called Senaar, the later Babylonia, 
resolved in sinful pride to erect a city with a colossal tower as 
a lasting monument of their own power. But their language 
became " confounded." We may presume that God's inter 
ference accelerated the differentiation of the languages, which is 
otherwise a natural process. The locality of this unfinished 
" Tower of Babel " was probably the city of Babylon or its 
environs. 

Concerning the dates of these events, the Church evidently does not 
mean to bind us to computations based on the figures of the Bible. 
Chronologists following the Vulgate, the official Latin Bible of the Church, 
assign 2350 b.c. as the date of the Deluge, while the figures in the Greek 
Bible which is also acknowledged by the Church would point to 3134 b.c. 
We may even ascribe to the human race a much longer duration than 
many of us, perhaps, are accustomed to do. But those who talk of 
200,000 years or more have never proved their assertion. Conscientious 
scientists assure us that there is no reason whatsoever to go beyond eight 
or, at the most, ten thousand years. As to the extent of the Deluge, we 



§2] THE NEW NATIONS 3 

may, if we choose, hold that the water covered not the entire earth but 
only the entire " land " where mankind lived. But the opinion that other 
human beings beside those saved in the Ark survived the Flood is not 
favored by the Church and lacks scientific proof. 

2. The New Nations. — After relating the story of the Tower 
of Babel, Holy AVrit still gives us the names of Noe's next 
descendants with some short hints as to their dwelling places. 
These valuable notes connect as it were by a thin thread many 
of the great nations of the earth with the eight persons in the 
Ark. The three sons of Noe became the ancestors of three 
families of nations. The descendants of Sem (Shem) are called 
the Semites ; to them belong the Assyrians, Arabs, and Jews. 
Cham (Ham) was the father of the Hamites, among whom are 
the Chanaanites (the original inhabitants of Palestine), the 
Babylonians, Egyptians and the Negroes of Africa. The Aryans 
or Indo-Europeans, comprising the Hindoos, the Medes and 
Persians, the Greeks, Italians, Celts, Germans and Slavs, were 
the offspring of eTaphet. Mixture of race, however, and the 
influence of climate and country produced an infinitely greater 
variety than this plain enumeration would lead one to believe. 
There is in fact hardly any people in the world which repre- 
sents an unmixed stock. It ought not to surprise us, if many 
a people, the Chinese for instance, does not fit neatly into our 
simple classification. 

Sameness of language as a rule argues sameness of origin. 
Yet some few nations have exchanged their own idiom for that 
of a neighbor. On the other hand, learned men assure us that 
the diversities among the inhabitants of the globe, such as 
color and language, are no reason to doubt the unity of the 
human race. The languages, in spite of their variety, positively 
point to one common origin. 

r -Religious Decay. — Unfortunately this extension of mankind 
over the earth was, on the whole, accompanied by a decay in 
religion and morals. In the course of time much of the super- 
natural truth revealed to Adam and by him transmitted to his 
children, became obscured. The worship of the One True God 



4 MANKIND UNDIVIDED [§ 2 

gave way to idolatry. Even the natural knowledge of man's 
various duties was very generally disregarded or overlaid with 
gross superstitions and errors. 

In the beginning this deterioration probably did not proceed very rap- 
idly. Much that makes on us the impression of polytheism may have 
been the adoration of the same God under different names. Little by 
little, too, a people may have come to look upon many violations of the 
moral law as less blameworthy than they really are. This of course 
somewhat lessened personal guilt, but became an immense calamity for a 
nation at large. Every human soul, however, is created immediately by 
God. On arriving at the full development of its faculties it is able to 
realize its essential duties, and the transgressions of the natural law are 
recognized as sinful and deserving of punishment. Hence we should not 
be surprised if we notice among pagans instances of true natural virtue 
and even meet with with an honest endeavor to rescue religion and mor- 
ality from complete ruin. But we also understand the severe verdict of 
St. Paul who declares of the pagans that "they are inexcusable." 
(Rom. I, 20.) 

But the Almighty forgot not the promise given to the first 
parents. While idolatry threatened to enslave all mankind, 
He took care that at least one nation still worshipped the God 
" Who made heaven and earth," and hoped and waited for the 
appearance of the " light for the revelation of the Gentiles." 

Civilization after the Flood. — By the time of the flood man- 
kind must have been on a very high level of civilization. Arts 
were practised, metal instruments were in use. The construc- 
tion of a vessel of the dimensions and character of the Ark, 
and the planning and partial erection of the Tower of Babel, 
suppose an astounding proficiency in mathematical knowledge 
and technical ability. This precious heirloom was not sud- 
denly lost. The various tribes took it along to their new 
domiciles. It could, however, avail them only where there 
was a large number of people together and where nature sup- 
plied the necessary material. If thrown into less favored 
regions and deprived of connection with the stream of original 
civilization, they could forget or fail to practise much of what 
they or their fathers had seen in their ancient homes. Their 



§2] THE NEW NATIONS 5 

civilization sank to a lower level and was likely to sink still 
lower with every new generation. The natural sources of his- 
tory disclose the fact that nations living at the same time but 
in different countries often show a remarkable dilference in 
civilization. Far from being surprising, this is but the conse- 
quence of the dispersion of the human race. 

Such tribes, rendered helpless by isolation and the miserly 
character of their soil would frequently resort to a very primi- 
tive mode of life. Stone, wood or bone is the only material 
they know how to work into implements for household use or 
into weapons for the chase. Similarly, intellectual civiliza- 
tion, the taste for arts of all kinds, theoretical knowledge of 
nature and its secrets, could be wholly or in part forgotten. 

God's Providence, however, watched over the greatest natural posses- 
sion of mankind. Some nations always kept the torch of material and 
intellectual civilization burning and in their turn spread its light abroad. 
They added to it by their own inventions, by devising better methods 
of the government of cities and empires, or by increasing the knowledge 
of nature, and by building up systems of every kind of science. Each 
people did this according to its own character, thus giving to its civili- 
zation a peculiar national type. As a matter of fact, just those peoples 
whose traces we can with some degree of certainty follow back the 
farthest into remote antiquity, at once appear with a rather full-grown 
civilization. But the only efficient way of reclaiming fallen races is 
vigorous contact with one more highly civilized. There is no genuine 
case known of auto-development of any savage people. 

Some Terms Relating to Early History. — With the information ob- 
tained from natural sources we are able to reconstruct with varying 
accuracy the story of the most important nations. Of some nations we 
have no written records at all. We call them prehistoric — which, how- 
ever, is by no means synonymous with savage. Often the traces of pre- 
historic nations are discovered in localities which later on became the 
homes of highly civilized peoples. These may or may not have been the 
descendants of the former. We also speak of Stone Age, Bronze ^ Age, 
Iron Age, according to the principal material used for implements. But 
all these terms must be used carefully There has been no general stone 

1 Bronze is an amalgamation of copper and tin. It is harder than either of 
its components, but not by far so hard as iron. 



6 MANKIND UNDIVIDED [§ 3 

period for all mankind. Many peoples were satisfied with ruder imple- 
ments while others show a high degree of civilization. Columbus found 
the natives of America using stone very largely. Nor did stone tools and 
weapons disappear directly after the introduction of iron. It would be 
rash to conclude that the "stone men " themselves re4nvented the working 
of metals, because this art may have been imported. Rasher still would 
be the verdict that they were inferior in intellect. (See § 2.) As to 
their religion and morals we have hardly any clew except that they be- 
stowed much care upon the burial of their dead. 

We do not apply these terms to pre-diluvian times. Whether there was 
a pre-diluvian stone age, that is, a period during which the first men com- 
pletely ignored the metals, we do not know. Maybe their knowledge was 
included in the extraordinary science of natural things which God granted 
to our first parents. 

Nor is the age before the Flood prehistoric. We know of it from a 
written document, the Bible, the author of which is an infallible eye wit- 
ness, God Himself. 

3. Elementary Features of Civilization. — The civilization of 
many nations in tlieir earliest period was indeed low. Yet 
with few if any exceptions all appear to have saved certain 
elements of pre-diluvian inheritance. Prehistoric civilization, 
no matter when and where encountered, is in possession of at 
least three achievements. The historic nations come under our 
view equipped with the same achievements. The very oldest, 
however, stand higher than this alone would indicate. These 
three elements are : — 

(a) The use of Jire, which perhaps more than any other 
material advantage shows man superior to the beasts. While 
the animal flees from it, fire is man's most powerful friend. 
Charred fragments of bone and wood are common among the 
earliest human deposits. One of the oldest tools in the world 
is the " fire borer," a hard stick of wood with which man started 
a fire by boring into a more inflammable wood. The methods 
of making fire which are pictured on the next page are all used 
by prehistoric nations. 

{h) The use of domestic animals. — They are not the same nor 
equally numerous with all peoples and in all countries. Those 
familiar to us in the barnyard or on the farm have come from 



§3] PJLEMENTARY FEATURES OF CIVILIZATION 7 

Asia. The western hemisphere is considerably poorer, and 
those found there are not so excellently fitted for domestic 
purposes. This fact partly accounts for the backwardness of 
America before the discovery. Nations that retained little of 




Some Sta(;ks in Jt^ iukmaking. — From Tylor 



the original civilization have few domestic beasts, but there are 
hardly any that have none at all. 

(c) The use of agricultural plants, in the lirst place the 
food-grains, as wheat, barley, rice, and the vegetables. Those 
who were nearer the stream of original civilization in the 
Asiatic countries enjoyed a great advantage. Out of the 
myriads of wild plants all our marvelous progress in science 
has failed to reveal even one other in the Old World so useful 
as those which man has already actually cultivated. Their 
only successful rivals are the potato and maize (Indian corn) 
contributed by the New World. All the prehistoric nations 
knew the cultivation of some agricultural plants. 

(d) To call a nation " historic " we must have written infor- 
mation about it, records composed by its own chroniclers or by 
others who knew about it. This presupposes the art of writing. 
It is impossible to tell when and in what way man obtained 
this most important accomplishment. 

It is certainly interesting to learn about the various kinds of writing 
which our historical sources disclose to us. 

Many early peoples used a picture writing such as is common still 
among North American Indians. In this kind of writing, a picture repre- 
sents either an object or some idea connected with that object. A draw- 



8 MANKIND UNDIVIDED [§ 4 

ing of an animal with wings may stand for a bird or for flying ; or a 
character like this O stands for either the sun or for light. At first such 
pictures are true drawings : later they are simplified into forms agreed 
upon. Thus in ancient Chinese, man was represented by ji;^, and in 
modern Chinese hy J\. 

Vastly important is the advance to a rehus stage of writing. Here a 
symbol has come to have a sound value wholly apart from the original 
object, as if the symbol O above were used for the second syllable in de- 
light. So in early Egyptian writing, O, the symbol for "mouth," was 
pronounced ru. Therefore it was used as the last syllable in writing the 
word khopiru., which meant " to be," while symbols of other objects in 
like manner stood for the other syllables. 

This representation of syllaMes by pictures of objects is the first stage 
in sound writing., as distinguished from picture writing proper. Finally, 
some of these characters are used to represent not whole syllables, but 
single sounds. One of Kipling's Just So stories illustrates how such a 
change might come about. Then, if these characters are kept and all 
others dropped, we have a true alphabet. Picture writing, such as that of 
the Chinese, requires many thousand symbols. Several hundred char- 
acters are necessary for even simple syllabic writing. But a score or so 
of letters are enough for an alphabet. Several prinaitive peoples de- 
veloped their writing to the syllabic stage; and about 1000 b.c, in 
various districts about the eastern Mediterranean, alphabetic writing ap- 
peared. 

4. Our Field of History. — It is the historical nations, then, 
to which we confine ourselves. Prehistoric civilization will be 
alluded to in so far only as it may throw light upon the condi- 
tions in historic times. Yet a further limitation is necessary. 

Soon after the Deluge numerous tribes must have turned 
toward the East, where we now find tlie multiform populations 
of China, Japan, and the Indies, with their distinct civiliza- 
tions. With this large fraction of humanity the present book 
can not deal. We care most to know of those peoples whose 
life has borne fruit for our own life. We shall study that part of 
the recorded past tvhich explains our present. Thus we bound 
our study in space. 

We have to limit it in time as well. Until after Columbus, 
our interest centres in Europe. And when we look for those 
early peoples to which we must ascribe the greatest influence 



§4] 



OUR FIELD OF HISTORY 



9 



upon the life of Europe, we find two eminent, — the Greeks and 
the Romans. A third ancient people, the insignificant nation 
of the Hebrews, had the great mission of keeping the road open 
for the most important factor in the life of mankind, Chris- 
tianity. Under the guidance of Christianity newer races were 
to take up the work. By a.d. 800 all these various influences 




The Field of Ancient History, to 800 a.d. 



had merged in one, and the result was the beginning of modern 
Europe. Ancient History, then will carry us to this date, the 
turning point in European history. This book will deal with 
Ancient History only. 

Of the historic peoples of ancient Europe the Greeks were 
the first to rise to highly civilized life. But the civilization of 
the Greeks was not wholly their own. Its germs were received 
from the older civilizations outside Europe, near the eastern 
shores of the Mediterranean. The history of these Oriental 
peoples covered thousands of years ; but we shall view only 



10 MANKIND UNDIVIDED [§ 4 

fragments of it, and we do that merely by way of introduction 
to Greek history. Oriental history is a sort of anteroom 
through which we pass to European history. 

The Hebrews indeed contributed very little to material civilization. 
But their importance for our religious and moral culture is paramount. 
A special Providence watched over this little nation and kept it from 
being crushed out of existence by overpowerful neighbors. Thus was 
preserved upon the wide earth a place where the worship of the true God 
never ceased, and where the coming Redeemer of mankind could find a 
starting point for His lifework. 

The field of ancient history, then, is small, compared with 
the world of our day. It was limited, of course, to the Eastern 
hemisphere, and covered only a small part of that. At its 
greatest extent, it reached north only through Central Europe 
east through less than a third of Asia, and south through only 
a small part of Northern Africa. Over even this territory it 
spread very slowly, from much more limited areas. For several 
thousand years, it did not reach Europe at all. 



Further Reading. — Chapters I-IX in Genesis (the first book of the 
Bible) as in Coppen's Choice Morsels, or Ecker's School Bible. Maturer 
students will tind treatments which they will enjoy and understand in any 
of the following books : Houck, Our Palace Beautiful, or Man's Place in 
the Visible Creation. Keary, Dawn of History ; Starr, Some First Steps 
in Human Progress ; also the books quoted after § 2. 

The textbook wdll confine its special suggestions for library work in 
Greek history (up to the period of Alexander) to William Sterns Davis' 
Readings in Ancient History and to one other single-volume work, — J. B. 
Bury's History of Greece, — with occasional alternatives suggested for the 
latter. 

In like manner, for Rome (to the Empire), the Readings and either 
Pelhaiu's Outlines of History or How and Leigh's History afford 
satisfactory material. For Oriental history, there is no one satisfactory 
volume to go with the Readings ; but library work is less important for 
that period. 



B. THE HISTORIC NATIONS OF THE ORIENT 

The giant ruins of Egyptian glory and the mummies and mummy 
cases of our museums provoke serious and gloomy reflections. They recall 
an ancient long vanished ivorld, a buried loorld peering loith the craggy 
remnants of its walls through the satids of the desert, a world finally 
winnowed out of the sepulchral dust of millenniums. And yet it existed 
some time, radiant with sunlight and pleasure, alive with gay andhrilliant 
crowds and ever stirring activity. — A. Baumgartner, S.J. 



5. The Rediscovery of Early History. — Until about a hundred 
years ago the early history of the East was almost unknown. 
The precious information contained in the Bil)le and the notes 
of ancient G-reek travelers disclosed too little about the lands 
and peoples in the Nile valley and on the banks of the Euphrates 
and Tigris. Yet there were the extensive remains of temples, 
palaces, and tombs with inscriptions in mysterious characters. 
A buried world was awaiting its resurrection. The strange 
writings found in the Euphrates lands were at first set down as 
some peculiar form of Hebrew or Chinese, or as mere orna- 
mentations or the effect of the weather. But in a.d. 1802, the 
German scholar Grotefend was able to identify several royal 
names. Others by patient labor corrected and completed the 
result of his studies. About 1850 Rawlinson, one of the greatest 
investigators, read and translated a gigantic rock inscription, 
which in three languages celebrated the deeds of Darius I 
(§§ 75, 76). The kind of writing thus discovered is called 
" cuneiform " (§ 47), and it was found to have been adapted to a 
great many Eastern languages. Good luck furnished a clue to 
the Egyptian kind of writing. About 1800 a.d., some soldiers 
of Napoleon in Egypt, while laying foundations for a fort at the 
Rosetta mouth of the Nile (map, page 16), found a curious slab of 
black rock. This " Rosetta Stone " bore three inscriptions : one 
of these was in Greek ; one, in the ancient hieroglyphs of the 
pyramids (§ 22) ; and the third, in a later Egyptian writing, which 
had likewise been forgotten. A French scholar, Champollion, 

11 



12 THE HISTORIC NATIONS OF THE ORIENT [§ 5 

guessed shrewdly that the three inscriptions all told the same 
story and used many of the same words ; and in 1822 he proved 
this to be true. Then, by means of the Greek, he found the 
meaning of the other characters, and so learned to read the long- 

•.'^^ISL^6$.^'B!!1^Y i sis W2^Ci:i:S#ir<.W 

Portion of Rosetta Stone, containing the hieroglyphs first deciphered. 
From Erman's Life in Ancient Egypt. 

forgotten language of old Egypt. A key to the language of 
the inscriptions had been found. 

At first there was little to read; but a new interest had 
been aroused, and, about 1850, scholars began extensive ex- 
plorations in the East. Sites of forgotten cites, buried beneath 



wrmm imMM^i 



Part of the Above Inscription, on a larger scale. 

desert sands, were rediscovered. Many of them contained great 
libraries on papyrus,^ or on stone and brick. A part of these 
have been translated ; and since 1880 the results have begun 
to appear in our books. The explorations are still going on ; 
and very recent years have been the most fruitful of all in dis- 
coveries. 

1 The papyrus was a reed which grew abundantly in the Nile and the 
Euphrates rivers. From slices of its stem a kind of " paper " was prepared 
by laying them together crosswise and pressing them into a smooth sheet. 
Our word " paper " comes from " papyrus." 



§7] THE CENTERS OF CIVILIZATION 13 

6. The Two Centers. — The first homes of civilization were 
Egypt and Chaldea, — the lower valleys of the Nile and the 
Euphrates. In the Euphrates valley the wild wheat and bar- 
ley afforded abundant food, with little effort on the part of 
man. The Nile valley had the marvelous date palm and va- 
rious grains. In each of these lands we very early find a dense 
population, and so part of the people were able to give atten- 
tion to other matters than getting food from day to day. 

In a straight line, Egypt and Chaldea were some eight hun- 
dred miles apart. Practically, the distance was greater. The 
only route fit for travel ran along two sides of a triangle, — 
north from Egypt, between the mountain ranges of western 
Syria, to the upper waters of the Euphrates, and then down 
the course of that river. 

Except upon this Syrian side, Egypt and Chaldea were shut 
off from other desirable countries. In Asia, civilizations rose 
at an early date in China and in India (§ 4 ) ; but they were 
separated from Chaldea by vast deserts and lofty mountains. 
In Africa, until Roman days, there'was no great civilization ex- 
cept the Egyptian, unless we count the Abyssinian on the 
south (map on page 16). The Abyssinians were brave and 
warlike, and they seem to have drawn some culture from 
Egypt. But a desert extended between Abyssinia and Egypt, 
a twelve-day march; and intercourse by the river was cut off 
by long series of cataracts and rocky gorges. It was hard for 
trade caravans to travel from one country to the other, and ex- 
tremely hard for armies to do so. To the west of Egypt lay 
the Sahara, stretching across the continent, — an immense, in- 
hospitable tract. On the north and east lay the Mediterranean 
and the Red Sea; and these broad moats were bridged only at 
one point by the isthmus. 

7. Syria a Third Center.^ — Thus, with sides and rear pro- 
tected, Egypt faced Asia across the narrow Isthmus of Suez. 

1 The term " Syria " is used with a varying meaning. In a narrow sense, 
as in this passage, it means only the coast region. In a broader use, it applies 
to all the country between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. 



14 THE HISTORIC NATIONS OF THE ORIENT [§ 7 

Here, too, the region bordering I^^gypt was largely desert ; but 
farther north, between the desert and the sea, lay a strip of 
habitable land. This Syrian region became the trade exchange 
and battle-ground of the two great states, and drew civilization 
from them. 

Syria was itself a nursery of warlike peoples. Here dwelt 
the Phoenicians, Philistines, Canaanites, Hebrews, Hittites, 
and other nations, whom we hear of in the Bible. But they 
do not all appear at the same time in history. Not before 
1500 did the Hebrews settle in that part which we now call 
Palestine. And we hear of their existence much later than of 
the peoples on the Nile and the Euphrates. Usually all these 
nations were tributary ^ to Egypt or Ohaldea. 

Despite Syria's perilous position on the road from Africa to 
Asia, its inhabitants might have kept their independence, if 
they could have united against their common foes. But rivers 
and ranges of mountains broke the country up into five or six 
districts, all small, and each hostile to the others. At times, 
however, when both the great powers were weak, there did 
arise independent Syrian kingdoms, like that of the Jews 
under David. 

1 A tributary couutry is one wliich is subject to some other country, with- 
out being absolutely joined to it. The " tributary " pays "tribute " and rec- 
ognizes the authority of the superior country, but for most purposes it keeps 
its own government. 



CHAPTER II 

EGYPT 

GEOGRAPHY 

Egypt as a geographical expression is two things — the Desert and the 
Nile. As a habitable country, it is only one thing — the Nile. 

— Alfred Milner. 

8. The Land. — Ancient Egypt, by the map, included about 
as much land as Colorado or Italy ; but seven eighths of it was 
only a sandy border to the real Egypt. The real Egypt is the 
valley and delta of the Nile — from the cataracts to the sea. 
It is smaller than Maryland, and falls into two natural parts. 

Upper Egypt is the valley proper. It is a strip of rich soil 
about six hundred miles long and usually about ten miles wide 
— a slim oasis between parallel ranges of desolate hills (map, 
page 16). For the remaining hundred miles, the valley broadens 
suddenly into the delta. This Lower Egypt is a squat triangle, 
resting on a two-hundred-mile base of curving coast where 
marshy lakes meet the sea. 

9. The Nile. — The ranges of hills that bound the "valley'' 
were originally the banks of a mightier Nile, which, in early 
ages, cut out a gorge from the solid limestone for the future 
"valley." The "delta" has been built up out of the mud 
which the stream has carried out and deposited on the old sea 
bottom. 

And what the river has made, it sustains. This was what 
the Greeks meant when they called Egypt "the gift of the 
Nile." Rain rarely falls in the valley; and toward the close 
of the eight cloudless months before the annual overflow, there 
is a brief period when the land seems gasping for moisture, — 
"only half alive, waiting the new Nile." The river begins to 

15 



16 



EGYPT 



[§10 



rise in July, swollen by tropical rains at its upper course in 
distant Abyssinia ; and it does not fully recede into its regular 
channel until November. During the days while the flood is 
at its height, Egypt is a sheet of turbid water, spreading be- 
tween two lines of 
rock and sand. 
The waters are 
dotted with towns 
and villages, and 
marked off into 
compartments by 
raised roads, run- 
ning from town to 
town ; while from 
a sandy plateau, 
at a distance, the 
pyramids look 
down upon the 
scene, as they have 
done each season 
for five thousand 
years. As the 
water retires, the 
rich loam dressing, 
brought down from 
the hills of Ethi- 
opia, is left spread 
over the fields, re- 
newing their won- 
derful fertility 
from year to year ; 
while the long soaking supplies moisture to the soil for the 
dry months to come. 

10. The Inhabitants. — Egypt is far away from those places 
where the new manki^id must have originated. Barriers of desert 
and water separate it from the cradle lands of the human race. 




Second Cataraei 



POATES ENS. CO., 



10] 



THE NILE 



17 



Yet our natural sources carry us back as far into the history of 
Egypt as is the case with any of the oldest nations of the world. 
For the period they cover they furnish more definite informa- 
tion. Very conservative Catholic historians allow the time of 
about 3200 b.c. but they do not find fault with those who think 
they can go as far as 5000 as the beginning of Egyptian his- 
tory. It is certainly safe to say that there lived a rather 




Photograph of a Modern Egyptian Woman sitting by a Sculptured 
Head of an Ancient King. — From Maspero's Daivn of Civilization. 
Notice the likeness of feature. The skulls of the modern peasants and of 
the ancient nobles are remarkably alike in form. 



highly civilized people on the banks of the Nile several thou- 
sand years before the coming of the Redeemer. 

The population of historical Egypt is said to have replaced 
an older one. It will probably never be found out by what 
route the first settlers reached Egypt, nor whether the Nile 
valley or rather the surrounding countries were inhabited first. 
Ethnologists say that there are points of relationship between 
the Egyptians and the Abyssinians, Arabs, Negroes, and other 



18 EGYPT [§11 

peoples. The historical Egy})tiaiis, at any rate, exhibit one 
type which has remained to the present day. They were evi- 
dently llaniites (See § 4), a sturdy race, and from their very 
first appearance in history well versed in many features of 
civilized life, including- the working of bronze. 

11. Growth of a Kingdom. — Our sources do not give us any 
certain information as to the actual causes which brought about 
political unification annmg the small communities of the Nile 
valley. Hostile inroads of desert tribes may have' led to 
alliances of the petty chiefs or kings. Or one more powerful 
than his neighbors may have concpiercd a whole region. In 
fact the engravings on early monuments sliow the people of 
different villages waging bloody conflicts along the dikes or in 
rude boats on the canals. Voluntary agreements, no doubt 
were formed to carry out by cooperation projects of wider 
proportion than one little community could undertake; for 
instance to drain marslics, to create systems of canals and res- 
ervoirs for a more profitable distribution of the water of the 
Nile. For, to control the yearly overflow to the best advantage 
was certainly one of the most obvious common interests of all 
the people. And once a larger state was established, these 
evident benefits of unified action must have tended greatly to 
give it stability and permanence. Thus the Nile which had 
made the country played a part in making Egypt into one 
state. ^ 

At any rate, before history begins, the multitudes of villages 
had combined into about forty petty states. Each one ex- 
tended from side to side of the valley and a few miles up and 
down the river ; and each was ruled by a " king." In order to 
secure prompt action against enemies to the dikes, and to di- 
rect all the forces of the state at the necessary moment, the 
ruler had to have unlimited power. So these kings became 

1 The word " state " is commonly used in history not in the sense in which 
we call Massachusetts a state, but rather in that sense in which we call Eng- 
land or the whole United States a state. That is, the word means a people, 
living in some definite place, zvifh a supreme government of its own. 



§ 12] GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE 19 

absolute despots, iiiid the mass of the people became little 
better than slaves. Then the same forces which had worked 
to unite villages into states tended to combine the many small 
states into a few larger ones. Memphis, in the lower valley, 
and Thebes, 350 miles farther up the river, were the greatest 
of many rival cities. Menen, prince of Memphis, united the 
petty principalities around hiui into the kingdom of Lower 







Boatmen fighting on tiik Nilk. — Egyptian rcliel';! Iroiu iMa.siK3ro. 

Egypt. In like manner Thebes became the capital of a king- 
dom of Upper J^gypt. About the year 3400 before Christ, the 
two kingdoms were united into one. Later Egyptians thought 
of Menes as the first king of the whole country. 

GOVERNMENT AND ]*E()PLE 

12. Social Classes. — Tha king was worshiped as a god by 
the mass of the people. His title, Pharaoh, means The Great 
House, — as the title of government of Turkey in modern 
times has been the Sublime Porte (Gate). The title implies 
that the ruler was to be a refuge for his peoi)le. 

The pharaoh was the absolute owner of the soil. Probably the 
kings had taken most of it for their own from the first, in return 
for protecting it ))y their dikes and reservoirs. At all events, this 
ownership helped to make the pharaoh absolute master of the 

1 A relief is a piece of sculpture in which the figures are only partly cut 
away from the solid rock. 



20 



EGYPT 



I§12 



inhabitants, — though in practice his authority was somewhat 
limited by the power of the priests and by the necessity of 
keeping ambitious nobles friendly.^ Part of the land he kept 
in his own hands, to be cultivated by peasants under the direc- 
tion of royal stewards ; but the greater portion he parceled out 
among the nobles and temples. 

In return for the land granted to him, a noble was bound to 
pay certain amounts of produce, and to lead a certain number 
of soldiers to war. Within his domain, the noble was a petty 

monarch : he ex- 
ecuted justice, 
levied his own 
taxes, kept uj) his 
own army. Like 
the king, he held 
part of his land 
in his own hands, 
while other parts 
he let out to 
smaller nobles. 
These men were 
dependent upon him, much as he was dependent ui)on the king. 
About a third of the land was turned over by the king to 
the temples to support the worship of the gods. This land be- 
came the property of the priests. The priests were also the 
scholars of Egypt, and they took an active part in the govern- 
ment. Tlie pharaoh took most of his high officials from them, 
and their influence far exceeded that of the nobles. 

The peasants tilled the soil. They were not unlike the 
peasants of modern Egypt. They rented small "farms," — 
hardly more than garden plots, — for which they paid at least 
a third of the produce to the landlord. This left too little for 
a family ; and they eked out a livelihood by day labor on the 
land of the nobles and priests. Eor this work they were paid 
by a small part of the produce. The peasant, too, had to 




A Capital from Karnak. — P'roiu Liibke. 



1 See Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 2. 



§ 12] CLASSES OF PEOPLE 21 

remain under the protection of some powerful landlord, or he 
might become the prey of any one whom he chanced to offend. 

Still, in quarrels with the rich, the poor were perhaps as safe as they 
have been in most countries. The oldest written "story" in the world 
(survivinu; in a papyrus of about 2700 u.c. ) gives an interesting illustration. 
A peasant, robbed through a legal trick by the favorite of a royal officer, 
appeals to the judges and finally to the king. The king commands redress, 
urging his officer to do justice "like a praiseworthy man praised by the 
praiseworthy." The passage in quotation marks shows that there was a 
strong public opinion against injustice. Probably such appeals by the 
poor were no more difficult to make than they were in Germany or France 
until a hundred years ago. And we have not yet learned how to give the 
poor man an absolutely equal chance with the rich in our law courts. 



In the towns there was a large middle class, — merchants, 
shopkeepers, physicians, lawyers,^ builders, artisans (§ 20). 

Below these were the unskilled laborers. This class was 
sometimes driven to a strike by hunger. 

Maspero, a famous French scholar in Egyptian history, makes the 
following statement {Struggle of the Nations^ 539): — 

"Rations were allowed each workman at the end of every month; 
but, from the usual Egyptian lack of forethought, these were often con- 
sumed long before the next assignment. Such an event was usually 
followed by a strike. On one occasion we are shown the workmen turn- 
ing to the overseer, saying : ' We are perishing of hunger, and there are 
still eighteen days before the next month.' The latter makes profuse 
promises ; but, when nothing comes of them, the workmen will not listen 
to him longer. They leave their work and gather in a public meeting. 
The overseer hastens after them, and the police commissioners of the 
locality and the scribes mingle with them, urging upon the leaders a 
return. But the workmen only say : ' We will not return. Make it 
clear to your superiors down below there.' The official who reports the 
matter to the authorities seems to think the complaints well founded, for 
he says, ' We went to hear them, and they spoke true words to us.' " 

Throughout Egyptian society, the son usually followed the 
father's occupation ; but there was no law (as in some Oriental 
countries) to prevent his passing into a different class. Some- 

1 These were mainly notaries, — to draw up business papers, record trans- 
fers of property, and so on. 



22 



EGYPT 



12 



times the son of a poor herdsman rose to wealth and power. 
Such advance was most easily open to the scribes. This learned 
profession was recruited from the briglitest boys of the middle 
and lower classes. Most of the scribes found clerical work 
only; but from the ablest ones the nobles chose confidential 
secretaries and stewards, and some of these, who showed 

special ability, were pro- 
moted by the pharaohs 
to the highest dignities 
in the land. Such men 
founded new families and 
reinforced the ranks of 
the nobility. 

The soldiers formed an 
important profession. 
Campaigns were so deadly 
that it was hard to find 
soldiers enough. Ac- 
cordingly recruits were 
tempted by offers of 
special privileges. Each 
soldier held a farm of 
some eight acres/ free 
from taxes ; and he was 
kept under arms only 
when his services were 
needed. Besides this reg- 
ular soldiery, the peas- 
antry were called out 
upon occasion, for war or 
for garrisons. 
There was also a large body of officials, organized in many 
grades like the officers of an army. Every despotic government 
has to have such a class, to act as eyes, hands, and feet ; but 




Portrait Statue of Amtkn, a 
made" noble of 3200 b.c. 



self- 



1 For Egypt this was a large farm. See page 20, 



13] 



LIFE OP THE. PEOPLE 



23 



in ancient Egypt tlie royal servants were particularly numerous 
and important. Until the seventh century b.c. the Egyptians 
had no money. Thus the immense royal revenues, as well as all 
debts between private men, had to be collected "in kind." 
The tax-collectors and treasurers had to receive geese, ducks, 
cattle, grain, wine, oil, metals, jewels, — " all that the heavens 




Egyptian Noblp: hunting Waterfowl on the Nile witli the " throw- 
stick " (a hoomerans). The birds rise from a group of papyrus reeds. — 
Egyptian relief; after Maspero. 

give, all that the earth produces, all that the Kile brings from 
its mysterious sources," as one king puts it in an inscription. 
To do this called for an army of royal officials. For a like 
reason, the great nobles needed a large class of trustworthy 
servants. 

13. Summary of Social Classes. — Thus, in Egyptian society, 
we have at the top an aristocracy, of several elements : (1) the 
nobles; (2) the powerful and learned ])riesthood, whose inr 
fluence almost equaled that of the pharaoh himself ; (3) scribes^ 



24 EcnPT [§ 14 

and physicians; (4) a i)rivilcge(l soldiery; and (5) a mass of 
privileged officials of many grades, from the greatest rulers 
next to the pharaoh, down to })etty tax collectors and the stew- 
ards of private estates. Ijower down there was tlte middle class, 
of shopkeepers and artisans, whose life ranged from comfort 
to a grinding misery; while at the base of society/ was n large 
mass of toilers on the land, weighted down by all the other 
classes. It is not strange that, in time, ni)per and lower 
classes came to differ in i)hysi('al appearance. The later 
monuments represent the nobles tall and lithe, with inii)erious 
bearing; while the laborer is jiictured heavy of feature and 
dumpy in build. 

14. Life of the Wealthy. — For most of the well-to-do, life 
was a very delightful thing, tilled with active employment and 
varied with many pleasures.^ Their homes were roomy houses 
with a wooden frame plastered over with sun-dried clay. 
Light and air entered at the many latticed windows, where, 
however, curtains of brilliant hues shut out the occasional sand 
storms from the desert. About the house stretched a large 
garden with artificial fish-ponds gleaming among the palm 
trees. - 

15. The Life of the Poor. — There were few slaves in Egypt ; 
but the condition of the great mass of the people fell little 
short of practical slavery. Toilers on the canals, and on the 
pyramids and other vast works that have made Egypt famous, 
were kept to their labor by the whip. " JNlan has a back," was 
a favorite Egyptian proverb. The numuments always picture 
the overseers with a stick, and often show it in use. The peojile 
thought of a beating as a natural incident in their daily work. 

The peasants did not live in the country, as our farmers do. 
They were crowded into the villages and poorer quarters of the 

1 The studont who has access to TNIaspero's Dawn of Civilization (or to 
various other illustrated works on Early Eijypt) can make an interesting 
report upon these recreations from what he can see in the pictures from the 
nionunuMits. 

- A full description of a noble's house is given in Davis' lieadinif,'^, Vol. I, 
No. r.. 



ir>] 



lifp: op the poor 



25 



towns, with tlio other ])Oorpr classes. Many of tlicni lived in 
mud liovcis of oidy oiu^ room. Su(^h huts wvav. S(;])ai-at(Ml fj-om 
one another merely by one mud jnirtition, and were l)uilt in 
lon^ rows, fa(nn^ upon narrow (;rooked alleys filled with filth. 
Only the extremely di-y air k(^j)t down pestileiKu^s. Hours of 




Tkmi'lk at Luxok. 



toil were from dawn to dark. Taxes were exacted harshly, 
so that an Egyptian writer of about 1400 B.C. exclaims in 
pity: — 

" Dost thou not nu;all tlie ])ictur(! of the farmei-, whori the tenth of liis 
grain is levied ? Worms liave (hsstroyed half of tlie wlieat. There are 
swarms of rats in the fields ; the t^rasshoppers aliglit tliere ; the cattle 
devour ; the little l)irds pilfer; and if the farmer lose sl^^ht for an instant 
of what remains upon th(! j^round, it is (;arried off by robbers. It is then 
that the scribe steps out of the boat at the landing place, to levy the tithe, 
and there come the keepers of the doors of the granary/ with cudgels and 
the Negroes with ribs of palm-leaves [very effective whips], crying: 
' Come now, corn ! ' 

Y(it other writei's blame an utter la(!k of provision on the 
])art of many farmers for the occurrence of such scenes of 
distress. 



26 EGYPT [§ 16 

Still, judging from Egyptian literature, the peasants seem 
to have been careless and gay, petting the cattle and singing 
at their work. Probably they were as well off as the like class 
has been during the past century in Egypt or in Russia. 

16. The position of women was better than it was to be 
in the Greek civilization, and much better than in modern 
Oriental countries. The poor man's wife spun and wove, and 
ground grain into meal in a stone bowl with another stone. 
Among the upper classes, the wife was the companion of the 
man. She was not shut up in a harem or confined strictly to 
household duties: she appeared in company and at public 
ceremonies. She possessed equal rights at law; and some- 
times great queens ruled upon the throne. In no other ancient 
country, except that of the Jews, do pictures of happy home 
life play so large a part. 

INDUSTRY AND LEARNING 

17. The Irrigation System. — Before the year 2000 b.c, the 
Egyptians had learned to supplement the yearly overflow of 
the Nile by an elaborate irrigation system. Even earlier, they 
had built dikes to keep the floods from the towns and gardens ; 
and the care of these embankments remained a special duty of 
the government through all Egyptian history. But between 
2400 and 2000 b.c. the pharaohs created a wonderful reservoir 
system. On the one hand, tens of thousands of acres of marsh 
were drained and made fit for rich cultivation : on the other 
hand, artificial lakes were built at various places, to collect 
and hold the surplus water of the yearly inundation. Then, 
by an intricate network of ditches and "gates " (much like the 
irrigation ditches of some of our western States to-day), the 
water was distributed during the dry months as it was needed. 
The government opened and closed the main ditches, as seemed 
best to it ; and its officers oversaw the more minute distribution 
of the water, by which each farm in the vast irrigated districts 
was given its share. Then, from the main ditch of each farm, 
the farmer himself carried the water in smaller water courses 



§ 18] AGRICULTURE 27 

to one part or another of his acres, — these small ditches 
gradually growing smaller and smaller, until, by moving a 
little mud with the foot, he could turn the water one way or 
another at his ^vill. Ground so cultivated was divided into 
square beds, surrounded by raised borders of earth, so that the 
water could be kept in or out of each bed. 

The most important single work of this system of irrigation was the 
artificial Lake Moeris (map, page 16). This was constructed by improv- 
ing a natural basin in the desert. To this depression, a canal was dug 
from the Nile through a gorge in the hills for a distance of eight miles. 
At the Nile side, a huge dam, with gates, made it possible to carry off 
through the canal the surplus water at flood periods. The canal was 
30 feet deep and 160 feet wide ; and from the "lake," smaller canals 
distributed the water over a large district which had before been perfectly 
barren. This useful work was still in perfect condition two thousand 
years after its creation, and was praised highly by a Roman geographer 
who visited it then. 

So extensive were these irrigation works in very early times 
that more soil was cultivated, and more wealth produced, and 
a larger population maintained, than in any modern period 
until English control was established in the country a short 
time ago. Herodotus (§ 21) says that in his day Egypt had 
twenty thousand " towns " (villages). 

18. Agriculture. — Wheat and barley had been introduced at 
an early time from the Euphrates region, and some less im- 
portant grains (like sesame) were also grown. Besides the 
grain, the chief food crops were beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, 
melons, cucumbers, and onions. Clover was raised for cattle, 
and flax for the linen cloth which was the main material for 
clothing.^ Grapes, too, were grown in great quantities, for the 
manufacture of a light wine. 

Herodotus says that seed was merely scattered broadcast on 
the moist soil as the water receded each November, and then 
trampled in by cattle and goats and pigs. But the pictures on 

1 There was also some cotton raised, and the abundant flocks of sheep 
furnished wool. 




28 EGYPT [§ 18 

the moiuiinents show that, in parts of Egypt anyway, a light 
wooden plow was used to stir the ground. This plow was 
drawn by two cows. Even the large farms were treated 
almost like gardens ; and the yield was enormous, — reaching 

the rate of a hun- 
dred fold for 
grain. Long after 
her greatness had 
departed, Egypt 
remained "the 
granary of the 
Mediterranean 
Egyptian Plow. — After Rawlinson. lands" 

The various crops matured at different seasons, and so 
kept the farmer busy through most of the year. Besides the 
plow, his only tools were a short, crooked hoe (the use of 
wliich bent him almost double) and the sickle. The grain was 
cut with this last implement; then carried in baskets to a 
threshing floor, — and trodden out by cattle, which were driven 
round and round, while the drivers sang, — 

" Tread, tread, tread out the grain. 
Tread for yourselves, for yourselves. 
Measures for the master ; measures for yourselves." 

An Egyptian barnyard contained many animals familiar to 
us (cows, sheep, goats, scrawny pigs much like the wild hog, 
geese, ducks, and pigeons), and also a number of others like 
antelopes, gazelles, and storks. Some of these it proved im- 
possible to tame profitably. We must remember that men, 
though aided by original traditions, learned by experiment 
wliich animals could be domesticated both successfully and 
usefully. The hen was not known. Nor was the horse pres- 
ent in Egypt until a late period (§ 29) ; even then he was never 
common enough to use in agriculture or as a draft animal. 

During the flood periods cattle were fed in stalls upon clover 
and wheat straw. The monuments picture some exciting 



§19] 



TRADE 



29 



scenes when a rapid rise of the NiU^. forced the peasants to 
remove their flocks and herds hurriedly, through the surging 
waters, from usual grazing grounds to the hood-time quarters. 
Veal, mutton, and antelope flesh were the common meats of the 
rich. The poor lived mainly on vegetables and goats' milk. 

19. Trade. — Until about G50 b.c, the Egyptians had no true 
money. For some centuries before that date, they had used 
I'iugs of gold and silver, to some extent, somewhat as we use 
money ; but these rings had no fixed weight, and had to be 







Market Scenk. — Egyptiau relief from the luunuments. 

placed on the scales each time they changed hands. During 
most of Egypt's three thousand 3^ears of greatness, indeed, ex- 
change in her market places was by barter. A peasant with 
wheat or onions to sell squatted by his basket, while would-be 
custouiers offered him earthenware, vases, fans, or other objects 
with which they had come to buy, but which perhaps he did not 
want. (The student will be interested in an admirable descrip- 
tion of a market scene in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 7. The 
picture above, from an Egyptian monument, is one of those 
used as the basis of that account.) 

We hardly know whether to be most amazed at the wonder- 
ful progress of the Egyptians in some lines, or at their failure 



30 EGYPT [§ 20 

to invent money and an alphabet, when they needed those 
things so sorely and approached them so closely. 

In spite of this serions handicap, by 2000 p..<\ the Egyptians 
carried on extensive trade. One inscription of that period de- 
scribes a ship bringing from the coast of Arabia '' fragrant 
woods, heaps of myrrh, ebony and pure ivory, green gold, cin- 
namon, incense, cosmetics, apes, monkeys, dogs, and panther 
skins." Some of these things must have been gathered from 
distant parts of Eastern Asia. 

20. The Industrial Arts. — The skilled artisans included 
brickworkers, weavers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, coppersmiths, 




Shoemakers. — Egyptian relief Iroiii the monuments; from Maspero. 

upholsterers, glass blowers, potters, shoemakers, tailors, ar- 
morers, and almost as many other trades as are to be found 
among us to-day. In many of these occupations, the workers 
possessed a marvelous dexterity, and were masters of processes 
that are now nnknown. The weavers in particular produced 
delicate and exquisite linen, almost as fine as silk, and the 
workers in glass and gold and bronze were famous for their skill. 
Jewels were imitated in colored glass so artfully that only an 
expert to-day can detect the fraud by the appearance. Though 
iron was used by men long before the Deluge, it does not occur 
in the ruins of Egypt before 800 b.c. This useful metal evi- 
dently did not find its way into the Nile valley — Egypt has 
no mines — in sufficient quantity to allow of the formation of 
an iron workers' craft before that date. 



21] 



INDUSTRY AND ART 



31 



21. The chief fine arts were architecture, sculpture, and 
painting. The Egyptian art, indeed, was the architecture of 
the temple and the tomb. 

The most famous Egyptian buildings are the pyramids. 
They were the tombs of kings.^ The skill shown in their con- 
struction implies a remarkable knowledge of mathematics and 




Sphinx and Pyiiamids. — From a photograph. (The human head of the 
sphinx is supposed to have the magnified features of a pharaoh. It is set 
upon the body of a lion, as a symbol of power.) 

of physics for such early times ; and their impressive massive- 
ness has always placed them among the wonders of the world. 
The most important pyramids stand upon a sandy plateau a 
little below the city of Memphis (map, p. 16). The largest, 
and one of the oldest, is known as the Great Pyramid. It is 
thought to have been built by King Cheops more than 3000 years 
before Christ, and it is by far the largest and most massive 

1 Other prominent persons erected Mastahas, i.e. flat-topped piles or chapels 
of massive stones. 



32 



EGYPT 



[§21 



building in the world. Its base covers thirteen acres, and it 
rises 481 feet from the plain. More than two million huge stone 
blocks went to make it, — more stone than has gone into any- 
other building in the world. Some single blocks weigh over 
fifty tons ; but the edges of the blocks that form the faces are 




Mean Sea Lewi 7 



SCALE OF FEET 



-4Mcan Sea Level- 



Vkktical Section of the Great Pyramid, looking West, sliowinj 

passages. 



A Entrance passage. 
B A lator opening^. 
D First ascending passage, 
E Horizontal passage. 



F Queen's chamber. 
G G Grand gallery. 
II Antechamber. 
I Coffer. 



K King's chamber. 
M N Ventilating chambers. 
Subterranean chamber. 
P Well, so called. 



R K R Probable e.vtent to which the native rock is employed to assist the masonry of the 
building. 

so polished, and so nicely fitted, that the joints can hardly be 
detected ; wliile the interior chambers, and long, sloping pas- 
sages between them, are built with such skill that, notwith- 
standing the immense weight above them, there has been no 
perceptible settling of the walls in the lapse of five thousand 
years. 



§21] INDUSTRY AND ART 33 

Herodotus, a Greek historian of the fifth century n.c, traveled in 
Ei^ypt and learned all that the priests of his day could tell liini regarding 
these wonders. He tells us that it took thirty years to build the Great 
Pyramid, — ten of those years going to piling the vast mounds of earth, up 
which the mighty stones were to be dragged into place, —which mounds 
had afterwards to be removed. During that thirty years, relays of a hun- 
dred thousand men were kept at the toil, each relay for three months at a 
stretch. Other thousands, of course, had to toil through a lifetime of 
labor to feed these workers on a monument to a monarch's vanity. All the 
labor was performed by mere human strength: the Egyptians of that day 
had no beasts of burden, and no machinery, such as we have, for movhig 
great weights with ease. 

The pyramids were the work of an early line of kings, soon 
after the time of Menes. Later monarchs were content with 
smaller resting places for their own bodies,^ and built instead 
gigantic temples for the gods. In their private dwellings the 
Egyptians sometimes used graceful colnmns and the true arch^ 
but for their temples they preferred massive walls and rows of 
huge, close-set columns, supporting roofs of immense flat slabs 
of rock. The result gives an impression of stupendous power, 
but it lacks grace and beauty. 

On the walls of the temples and within the tombs we find the 
inscriptions and the papyrus rolls that tell us of ancient Egyp- 
tian life. With the inscriptions there are found long bands of 
pictures (" reliefs '') cut into the walls, illustrating the story. 
There are found also many full statues, large and small. Much 
of the early scul})ture was lifelike ; and even the unnatural 
colossal statues, such as the Sphinxes, have a gloomy grandeur 
in keeping with the melancholy desert that stretches about 
them. Later sculpture has less character and less finish. 

The painting lasted in the closed rock tombs with perfect 
freshness, but it fades quickly upon exposure to the air. The 
painters used color well, but they did not draw correct forms. 
Like the "relief" sculptures, the painting lacked perspective 
and proportion. 

1 Often, however, they used the old pyramids, already constructed, for their 
tombs, sometimes casting out the mummy of a predecessor. 



34 



EGYPT 



[§22 



22. Literature and the Hieroglyphs. — The Egyptians wrote 
religious books, poems, histories, travels, novels, orations, trea- 
tises upon morals, scientific works, geographies, cook-books, 




Ra-Hotep, a noble of about 3200 u.r. Princess Nefert, a portrait statue 
Perhaps the oldest portrait statue in 5000 j^ears old. Now in the Cairo 
the world. Now in the Cairo Museum. Museum. 



catalogues, and collections of fairy stories, — among the last a 
tale of an Egyptian Cinderella, with her fairy glass slipper. 
On the first monuments, writing had advanced from mere 



22] 



LITERATURE AND LEARNING 



35 



pictures to a rebus stage (cf. § 3 e). This early writing was 
used mainly by the priests in connection with the worship of 
the gods, and so the characters were called hierogly2)hs(" priest's 
writing "). The pictures, though shrunken, compose " a delight- 
ful assemblage of birds, snakes, men, tools, stars, and beasts." 
Some of these signs grew into real letters, or signs of single 




Temple at Edfu, a village between Thebes and the First Cataract. 
This is one of the best preserved Egyptian temples, and the finest example 
of ancient Egyptian religious buildings. It was begun by Ptolemy III in 
237 B.C. (See pictures on pages 20, 25, 276. Note the difference in the capitals.) 

sounds. If the Egyjjtians could have kept these last and have 
dropped all the rest, they would have had a true alphabet. But 
this final step they never took. Their writing remained to 
the last a curious mixture of tliousands of signs of things, of 
ideas, of syllables, and of a few single sounds.^ This was what 
made the position of the scribes so honorable and profitable. 
To master such a system of writing required long schooling, 



1 A good account of the hieroglyphs is given in Keary's Dawn of Histonj, 
298-303. Another may be found in Maspero's Dawn of Civilization, 221-224, 
and there is a pleasant longer account in Clodd's Story of the Alphabet. 



36 



EGYPT 



[§23 



and any one who could write was sure of well-paid employ- 
ment. 

When these characters were formed rapidly upon papyrus 
or pottery (instead of upon stone), the strokes were run to- 
gether, and the char- 
acters were gradually 
modified into a run- 
ning script, which 
was written with a 
reed in black or red 
ink. The dry air of 
the Egyj^tian tombs 
has preserved to our 
day great numbers of 
bulled ])a]>yrus rolls, 
23. Science. — The 
Nile has been called 
the father of Egyp- 
tian science. The 
frequent need of sur- 
veying the land after 
an inundation had to 
do with the skill of 
the early Egyptians 
in geometry. The 
need of fixing in ad- 
vance the exact time 
of the inundation di- 
rected attention to 
the true "3'ear,'' and 
so to astronomy. 

Great progress 
was made in both 
these studies. AVe moderns, who learn glibly from books and 
diagrams the results of this early labor, can hardly understand 
how difficult was the task of these first scientific observers. 




Relikf fudm thk Tkmple of Hathou (jjoddess 
of tho sky ami of love), at Deiuleia. 28 miles 
north of Thebes. This temple belonj^s to a late 
period. Notice the "conventionalized " wings, 
and the royal "oartonches." In Egyptian in- 
scriptions, the name of a king is snrrounded by 
a line, as in the npper right-hand corner of this 
relief. Such a figure is called a "cartouch." 
See the Rosetta stone, on page 12. 



§24] LITERATURE AND LEARNING 37 

Uncivilized peoples count time by " moons " or by " winters " ; but to 
fix the exact length of the year (the time in which the sun apparently 
passes from a given point in the heavens, through its path, back again to 
that point) reciuires i)atient and skillful observation, and no little knowl- 
edge. Indeed, to find out that there is such a thing as a "year" is 
no simple matter. If the student will go out into the night, and look upon 
the heavens, with its myriads of twinkling points of light, and then try to 
imagine how the first scientists learned to map out the paths of the 
heavenly bodies, he will better appreciate their work. 

Long before the unification of the kingdom, the Egyptians 
counted by years. Later on they fixed the year at 305} 
days and invented a leap year arrang(;nient. Their "year," 
together with their calendar of months, we get from them 
througli -Iiilius Caesar (improved, in 1582, by Pope Gregory 
XIll). In arithmetic the Egyptians dealt readily in numbers 
to millions, with the aid of a notation similar to that used 
later by the Romans. Thus, 3423 was represented l)y the 
Romans : M M M C C C C XX III 

and by the Egyptians : $J$@@®(5RI' 

All this learning is older than the Greek by almost twice as 
long a time as the Greek is older than ours of to-day. No 
wonder, then, that (according to a Greek story) in the last days 
of Egyptian greatness, a j)riest of Sai's exclaimed to a traveler 
from little Athens : " Solon, Solon ! You Greeks are mere 
children. There is no old opinion handed down among you 
by ancient tradition, nor any scien(;e hoary witli age ! " (§ 140.) 
It must be remembered, however, that this science was the 
possession only of the })riests, and j)('rha])S of a few others. 

24. Religion. — It is not impossible that some of the first 
settlers in the Nile valley had already lost the idea of one (xod. 
The Egyptians, however, undoubtedly admitted the depend- 
ency of man on superior beings. Rut there existed, especially 
among the common people, a curious mixture of religions. 
Each family worshiped its ancestors. Beasts also, such as cats, 
dogs, bulls, crocodiles, were sacred. To injure one of these 
" gods," even by accident, was to incur the fury of the people. 
Probably this worship was a degraded kind of ancestor wor- 



38 



EGYPT 



34 



ship known as totemism, which is found among many peoples. 
North American Indians of a wolf clan or a bear clan — with 
a fabled wolf or bear for an ancestor — must on no account 
injure the ancestral animal, or " totem." i In Egypt, however, 
the worship of animals became more widely spread, and took 
on grosser features than has ever been the case elsewhere. 

Above all this, there was a 
worship of countless deities 
and demigods representing 
sun, moon, river, wind, storm, 
trees, and stones. Each town 
had its special god to protect 
it ; and the gods of the capi- 
tals became national deities. 

Among the more educated 
classes many had a higher and 
purer concept of God. Some 
passages in their books speak 
in a language which closely 
resembles and in some iso- 
lated cases equals the words 
of the Bible. This is espe- 
cially so about 1500 b.c, the 
time when the Israelites Avere 
in Egypt. " God," say some 
of the inscriptions, " is a 
spirit; no man knoweth his 
reator of the heavens and the 




st)U, lIoRUs, I he risiuii' sun. 



her 



form," and again, " He is the 
earth and all that is therein." 

The substance of such truUis was no doubt inherited, but they were 
not at all times exjn-essed with equal clearness. In the later centuries 
the gross popular beliefs alone remained. The following hymn to Aten 
(the Sundisk), symbol of Light and Life, was written by an Egyptian 
king of the fifteenth century b.c. Some of its lines seem to indicate that 
it is addressed to the true creator of the world. 



1 Cooper's Last of the Mohicans contains an illustration of totemism. 



§25] RELIGION AND MORALS 39 

" Thy appearing is beautiful in tlie horizon of heaven, 
O living Aten, the beginning of life ! . . . 
Thy beams encompass all lands w^hich thou hast made. 
Thou bindest them with thy love. . . . 
The birds fly in their haunts — 
Their wings adoring thee. . . . 
How many are the things which thou hast made ! 
Thou Greatest the land by thy will, thou alone, 
With peoples, herds, and flocks. . . . 
Thou givest to every man his place, thou framest his life.'' 

25. The idea of a future life. From the earliest times the 
Egyptians believed that man is survived in death by a certain 
principle of life corresponding to what we call the soul. But 




Sculptured Funkrau Couch: the soul is represented crouching by the 
mummy. — From Maspero. 

this idea was very much obscured. They generally thought 
that either the body remains the home of the soul, or at least 
that the soul lives on in a pale shadowy existence near the 
tomb.^ If the body be not preserved, or if it be not given 
proper burial, then, it was thought, the soul becomes a wan- 
dering ghost, restless and harmful to men. The universal 

1 The poor endeavored to give their dead a resting place which at least was 
not reached by the waters of the Nile. 



40 



EGYPT 



PTT.TTTMrafi 



Egyptian practice of ciubaliniiigi the body before burial was 
connected with it. They wished to preserve the body as the 
home for the souh In the early tombs, too, there are always 
found dishes in which had been placed food and drink, which 
were in later times replaced by painted food. These prac- 
tices continued through 
all ancient Egyptian 
history. 

There existed however, 
especially among the 
liigher classes, the con- 
viction of a truer immor- 
tality for those who de- 
served it. After death 
the soul had to undergo a 
severe trial by forty-two 
'\iudges of the dead." If 
found guiltless it entered 
a kind of heaven, where 
it enjoyed all the pleas- 
ures of life without any 
pain. The other souls 
might be obliged to re- 
turn to the world for a 
second probation, or they would finally perish. 

Unfortunately this imperfect idea of a future retribution 
was very much weakened by the rankest superstition. The 
people thought that certain formulas or articles would serve 
to deceive the judges. But even so it could not fail to 
exercise a great and wholesome influence upon the moral 
conduct of men. 

The followinc; noble extract comes from the " Repudiation of Sins." 
This was a statement which tlie Egyptian believed he ought to be able to 

1 "Embalming" is a process of prepariug a dead body with drugs and 
spices, so as to prevent decay. 




A ToiNIB PAINTINt; 



. sliowing ot't'oriiigs to the 
dead. 



25] 



RELIC TON AND MORALS 



41 



say truthfully before the "Judges of the Dead." It shows a keen sense 
of duty to one's fellow men, which would be highly honorable to any 
religion. 

" Hail unto you, ye lords of Truth ! hail to thee, great god, lord of 
Truth and Justice ! . . . I have not committed iniquity against men 1 I have 
not oppressed the poor ! . . . I have not laid labor upon any free man 
beyond that which he wrought for himself ! . . . I have not caused the 
slave to be ill-treated of his master ! I have not starved any man, I have 
not made any to weep, ... / have not pulled dmvn the scale of the 




Weighing thk Soul in the scales of truth Ix^fo re the itjods of the dead. — 
Egyptian relief; after Maspero. (The figures with animal heads are gods 
and th(!ir messengers. The human forms represent the dead who are 
being led to judgment.) 

balance! I have not falsified the beam of the balance! I have not 
taken away the milk from the mouths of sucklings. . . . 

" Grant that he may come unto you — he that hath not lied nor borne 
false witness, . . . he that hath given bread to the hungry and drink to 
him that was athirst, and that hath clothed the naked with garments.'''' 

Some other declarations in this statement run : " I have not blas- 
phemed ; " "I have not stolen;" "I have not slain any man treacher- 
ously;" "I have not made false accusation;" "I have not eaten my 
heart with envy." These five contain the substance of half of the Ten 
Commandments, — hundreds of years before Moses gave to the Children 
of Israel by divine inspiration that admirably worded code of the natural 
law. 



42 EGYPT [§ 27 

26. Moral Character. — The ideal of character, indicated 
above, is contained in many other Egyptian inscriptions. Thus, 
some three thousand years before Christ, a noble declares in 
his epitaph : " I have caused no child of tender years to mourn ; 
I have despoiled no widow ; I have driven away no toiler of 
the soil [who asked for help] . . . None about me have been 
unfortunate or starving in my time." ^ Of course, like other 
people, the Egyptian fell short of his ideal. On the other hand, 
it is not fair to expect him to come up to our modern standard 
in all ways. The modesty and refinement which we value were 
lacking among the Egyptians ; but they were a kindly people. 
The sympathy expressed by their writers for the poor (§ 15) is 
a note not often heard in ancient literature. Scholars agree 
in giving the Egyptians high praise as " more moral, sym- 
pathetic, and conscientious than any other ancient people," 
with exception of course of the Hebrews and most probably 
the Persians. Professor Petrie sums up the matter thus : " The 
Egyptian, without our C'liristian sense of sin or self-reproach, 
sought out a fair and noble life. . . . His aim was to be an 
easy, good-natured, quiet gentleman, and to make life as 
agreeable as he could to all about him." 

THE STORY 

27. The Old and Middle Kingdoms. — It is convenient to mark 
off seven periods in the history of Egypt (§§ 27-33). For more 
than a thousand years after Menes (3400-2400 b.c), the capital 
remained at IMemphis in Lower Egypt. This period is known 
as the Old Kingdom. It is marked by the complete consolida- 
tion of the country under the pharaohs, by the building of the 
pyramids and sphinxes, and by the rapid development of the 
civilization which Ave have been studying. The only names we 
care much for in this age are Menes and Cheops (§ 21). 

28. The Middle Kingdom. — Toward 2400 b.c, the power of 
the pharaohs declined ; but the glory of the monarchy was re- 

^ The same ideas of duty are set forth more at leugth iu extracts given 
iu Davis' Readings, Vol. I, Nos. J) and 10. 



28] 



THE POLITICAL STORY 



43 



stored by a new line of kings at T/u^hes in the upper valley. 
Probably this was the result of civil war between Upper and 
Lower Egypt. The Theban line of pharaohs are known as 
the Middle Kingdom. Their rule lasted some four hundred 
years (2400-2000 B.C.), and makes the second period. The two 
features of this period are foreign conquest and a new develop- 
ment of resources at home. 
Ethiopia, on the south, 
was subdued, with many 
Negro tribes ; and parts 
of Syria were conquered ; 
but the chief glory of this 
age, and of all Egyptian 
history, was the develop- 
ment of the marvelous 
system of irrigation that 
has been described in § 17 
above. The pharaohs of 
this period, in happy con- 
trast with the vain and 
cruel pyramid-builders, 
cared most to encourage 
trade, explore unknown 
regions, improve roads, 
establish wells and reser- 
voirs, A king of 2200 b.c. 
boasts in his epitaph — 
probably with reason — 
that all his commands had 
subjects toward him. 




Cheops (more properly called Khufu), 
builder of the Great Pyramid : a portrait- 
statue discovered in 19()2 by Flinders 
Petrie. As Professor Petrie says, "The 
first thing that strikes us is the enormous 
driving power of the man." 



ever increased the love" of his 
Egyptian commerce now reached to 
Crete on the north, and probably to other islands and coasts 
of the Mediterranean, and to distant parts of Ethiopia on the 
south. One of the greatest works of the time was the opening 
of a canal from a mouth of the Nile to the Red Sea, so that 
ships might pass from that sea to the Mediterranean. This 
gave a great impulse to trade with Arabia (§ 19). 



44 



EGYPT 



29 



29. The Hyksos. — This outburst of glory was followed by 
a strange decay (2000-1000 n.c. — the " third period "), during 
which Egypt became tlie prey of roving tribes from Arabia. 
From the title of their chiefs, these conquerors were called 
Ilyksos, or Shejjhercl Kings. They maintained themselves in 
Egypt about two hundred years. For a time they harried the 
land cruelly, as invaders; then, from a capital in the lower 
Delta, they ruled tlie country through tributary Egyptian 




Sculptors at work on colossal fii;ures. — From an Eijyptian relief. 

kings ; and finally they acquired the civilization of the country 
and became themselves Egyptian sovereigns. It was this 
Arabian conquest that first brought the horse into Egypt (§ 18). 
After this period, kings and nobles are represented in war 
chariots and in pleasure carriages. 

30. The New Empire. — A line of native monarchs had re- 
mained in power at Thebes, as under-kings. About IGOO b.c, 
after a long struggle, tliese princes expelled the Hyksos. Dur- 
ing this " fourth period," 1G00-1330, Egypt reached its highest 
pitch of military grandeur. The long struggle with the Hyksos 
had turned the attention of the people from industry to war ; 
and the horse made long marches easier for the leaders. A 
series of mighty kings recovered Ethiopia, conquered all western 
Syria, and at last reached the Euphrates, ruling for a brief time 
even over Babylonia. 



30] 



THE POLITICAL STORY 



45 



Here, on the banks of a mighty river, strangely like their 
own Nile, they found the home of another civilization, equal 
to their own, but different. For some thousand years, these two 







early civilizations had been existing without much intercom- 
munication with each other ^ (§ 19). Now a new era opened^ 
The long ages of isolation gave way to an age of intercourse.^ 

1 The Egyptians did know something of the Euphrates culture, because it 
had, long before, extended into Syria (§ 38), which Egyptian armies and 
traders had visited occasionally, for some centuries ; but now first they saw it 
in its full magnificence. 

2 Egypt did not admit foreigners into her own Nile district, except the 
official representatives of other governments. But the Syrian lands were the 
middle ground where the two civilizations held intercourse. 



46 



EGYPT 



[§31 



The vast districts between the Euphrates and the Nile became 
covered with a network of roads. Tliese were garrisoned here and 
there by fortresses ; and over them, for centuries, there passed 
hurrying streams of officials, couriers, and merchants. The brief 
supremacy of Egypt over the Euphrates district was also the 
frst political toiion of the Orient. In some degree it paved the 
way for tlie greater empires to follow, — of Assyria, of Persia, of 
Alexander, and of Rome. The most famous Egyptian rulers of 

this age are TJnltmosis^ 
in, and Jiameses 11. The 
student will iind interest- 
ing passages about both 
these monarchs in Davis' 
Headings, Vol. I. 

31. Decline. — A long 
age of Aveakness (the 
"fifth period," about 
13o0-()40) soon invited 
attack. The priests had 
drawn into their hands a 
large part of the land of 
Egypt. This land paid no 
taxes, and the pharaohs 
felt obliged to tax more 
heavily the already over- 
burdened peasantry. Population declined; revenues fell off. 
Early in this period of decline, the Hebrews emigrated from 
Egypt- 'J-'lieir ancestors had come from Syria during the rule 
of the Arabian Hyksos, who were friendly to them. In 
Egypt they grew into a populous nation, but the great mon- 
archs of the New Em})ire reduced them to serfdom. They 
now left Egypt to settle in the " promised land " (§ 59). 

The government was no longer strong enough in armies for 
the defense of the frontiers. Dominion in both Africa and 




SOULPTUKKD HkAD OK I'ur'TIMDSIS III 

(about 1470 B.C.), who in twelve jji-eat 
cani[)aiuiis tii*st carried Ejjyptian arms 
from the isthmus to Nineveh. 



1 All difficult proper uames have the prouuuciatiou shown m the index. 



32] 



THE POLITICAL STORY 



47 



Asia shrank, until Egypt was driven back within her ancient 
bounds. The Hittites (§ 7), descending from the slopes of the 
Taurus Mountains (map, page 45), overthrew Egyptian power 
in Syria ; and the tribes of the Sahara, aided by '' strange 
peoples of the sea" (Greeks among them), threatened to seize 
even the Delta itself. In 
730 B.C. the Ethiopians 
overran the country ; and, 
in 672, Egypt Jinally he- 
came subject to Assyria 
(§ 40). 

Dates are not fixed exactly 
in Egyptian history until 
about this time. For all 
earlier periods, a margin of a 
century or two must be al- 
lowed for errors in calculation. 

This vagueness is due to 
the fact that ancient peoples 
did not reckon historical or 
political periods from a com- 
mon fixed point of time as we 
do: instead, they reckoned 
from the building of a city, 
or from the beginning of the 
reigns of their kings. An in- 
scription may tell us that a certain event took place in the tenth year of 
the reign of Rameses ; but we do not know positively in just what year 
Rameses began to reign. 

32. The Sixth Period, 653-525. — After twenty years of 
Assyrian rule, Psammetichus restored Egyptian independence 
and became the pharaoh. He had been a military adventurer, 
apparently of foreign blood; and had been employed by the 
Assyrians as a tributary prince. During her former greatness, 
although her own traders visited other lands, Egypt had kept 
herself jealously closed against strangers. But Psammetichus 
threw open the doors to foreigners. In particular, he welcomed 



1 


<mmmmmm 


■■■ 


I^^B 


-•^--^ 


HV 


ni 


^1 


' f ' "^ 


wB^B_ 


^ 

J 


m 




i! 


1 






n 


r m 




Hi 


i^ 




jk 


^^^^^^^^B 
^^^^^B ' 


^'^i 




WF 



Kamksks 11, a coiiquorin^ pliaraoh ol' about 
1375 B.C. This colossal statue stands in 
the ruins of the palace at Luxor. 



48 



ECJYPT 



[§ :J.'i 



Ihc (JiHH'ks, who wovo just coniini^ into notice ;is soldiers and 
sailors. Not only did individual (Jrcck travelers (§5^ lil, L\S, 
ITiG) visit the eountry, but a (Jrcidv colony, NaucratiSy was es- 
tahlisluMl tliere, and lar^c uuiuIxms of (Jreek soldiers served in 
llic ai-uiy. iu(h'('d Sais, \\\v lunv capital of Psannnetichus 
and his son, throuL^cd with (Ji-ci'k a,dveid,ur(!rs. This w:is tlu^ 
tjnic, a,ccordiiii,dy, when l^l.^yj)!. " luUillcd iu'r mission aniont; 
the nations." Slic IkkI received the lieirh)oni of civilization 
a,^-(\s lu'l'on^; now slie jcissed it on to tlie western world tJirouj^h 
this younger race. 

Nero, the second monarch of this new line oi' kini^^s, nded 
about. (■>()() u.c. lie was i^reatly interested in reviving;- the old 



P\^ 



TSAIMIM lOIIC 



I*],L;yi)tian commeree. His 
ellorts to restore Egyptian 
inilueiu'(r in Syria and Ara- 




bia were I'oih'd by the rise 
ot a new empire in the l^ai- 
phra.tes valley TJ) ; and lu^ failed also in a nobler attempt 
t.o reopen the ani'ient. ciinal connecting the Red Sea with 
th(^ M(Hliterranean (§ L\S). [Jut, in searching for another 
route for vessids between those \vat»Ms, he did succeed in a re- 
markable att(Mupt. OiK' of fit's ships saih'd uroutnl Africa, 
starting from the lu>d Sea and returning, three years later, by 
th(^ INhuliterranean. ilei-odotus (ij LM), who ttdls us the story, 
adils : "On their return tiie sailors n^poi'ted (others may be- 
lievi^ tluMu but, I will not) that in sailing from east to west 
around Africa th(\y had the siin on their right hand." This 
report, which ilei-odotus could not. believe, is good proof to us 
that, the story of the sailors was true. 

33. Egyptian History merges in Greek and Roman History. — 
Tlu^ last age of 1^'gyptian independence lasted only lL\S years. 
TluMi followed the "seventh ]>erio(l," — one of long dependence 
upon foreign i)owers. Persia, concpiered the conntry in 525 ii.c. 
(^ 72), and ruled it for two centnries under Persian governors. 
Then Alexander the (Jreat establisluMl (Jreek sway over all the 
Persian world (§§ 27S If.). At his death l*'gyi)r. became again a 



y.V.\\ TUK POLITK^AL STORY 49 

separate state; but it was ruled by tlie Greek Ptolerrties from 
their new Greek cajntal at Alexandria, ('leopatra, the last of 
this line of monarehs, fell before Augustus Caesar in 'M) n.c., and 
Egypt became a Roman province. Native rule has never been 
restored. 



KxKitciHKH. — 1. Make a Huniinary of Mk; tliin<j;,s w(; <)W(! 1,0 Ki^ypt. 

2. What (;aii you learn from thoHe (ixtracts upon Kj^ypt in Davis' Iieadin,{/s, 
whiclj have not beM-n rcfitrnni to in thin chapter? (If the ehiKH have 
enouf^h of those; vahiable litth; hooks in their hands, this toi)ic may make 
all or part of a day's hjsson : If only a coi)y or two is in the library, one 
student may well make a siiort report to the class, with brief niadings.) 

3. Do you regard the first pyramid or Lake Moeris or th(! eanal from the 
Nile to th(; K(m1 Sea as the tru(!st monument to Egyptian greatness ? 

4. Stud(!nts who wish to read further upon ancient Kgypt will find the 
titl(!S of three or four of the best books f(;r their purpose in the Appendix. 



CHAPTER III 

THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES 

Gl^X)GKArnY 

34. The Two Rivers. — Across Asia, from tlie Ked to the 
Yellow Sea, stretches a mighty desert. Its smaller and west- 
ern part, a series of low, sandy plains, is really a continuation 
of the African desert. The eastern portion (which lies almost 
wholly beyond the field of our ancient history, § 4) consists of 
lofty i)lateaus broken up by rugged mountains. The two parts 
are separated from each other by a patch of luxuriant vegeta- 
tion, reaching away from the Persian Gulf to the northwest. 

This oasis is the work of the Tigris and Euphrates. (In this 
connection see map facing p. 12.) These twin rivers have 
never interested men so much as the more mysterious Nile has ; 
but they have played a hardly less important part in history. 
Rising on opposite sides of the snow-capped mountains of 
Armenia, they approach each other by great sweeps until they 
form a common valley ; then they flow in parallel channels for 
the greater part of their course, uniting just before they reach 
the Gulf. The land between them has always been named 
from them. The Jews called it '• Syria of the Two Rivers " ; 
the Greeks, Mesopotamia, or " Between the Rivers '' ; the mod- 
ern Arabs, ''The Tshind." 

35. Divisions of the Valley. — The valley had three distinct 
parts, two of whii'h were of special importance. Tlie first of 
these was Chaldea,^ the district near the mouth of the rivers. 

1 This is the name that has heeii used for many centuries. It seems best to 
keep it, thouijh we know now that it is inaccurate for the early period. The 
Chaldeans proper did not enter the valley until long after its civilization 
beg;ui. 

50 



§ 36] GEOGRAPHY 51 

Like the delta of the Nile, Chaldea consisted of deposits of 
soil carried out in the course of ages into the sea. In area it 
equaled modern Denmark, and was twice the size of the real 
Egypt. As with Egypt, its fertility in ancient times was main- 
tained by an annual overflow of the river, regulated by dikes, 
canals, and reservoirs. Whfeat and barley are believed to have 
been native there. Certainly it was from Chaldea that they 
spread west to Europe. 

The Euphrates district is more dependent upon artificial aids for irri- 
gation than the Nile valley is ; and in modern times Chaldea has lost its 
ancient fertility. During the past thousand years, under Turkish rule, 
the last vestiges of the ancient engineering works have gone to ruin. 
The myriads of canals are choked with sand; and, as a result, in this 
early home of civilization, the uncontrolled overflow of the river turns the 
eastern districts into a dreary marsh ; while on the west the desert has 
drifted in, to cover the most fertile soil in the world ; — and the sites of 
scores of mighty cities are only shapeless mounds, where sometimes 
nomad Arabs camp for a night. 

To the north of Chaldea, the rich plain gives way to a 
rugged table-land. The more fertile portion lies on the Tigris 
side, and is the second important part of the valley. It was 
finally to take the name Assyria. 

The western half of the upper valley is sometimes called 
Mesopotamia Proper. This third district was less fertile than 
the others, and never became the seat of a powerful state. It 
opened, however, upon the northern parts of Syria, and so made 
part of the great roadway between the Euphrates and the Nile. 

THE STORY 

36. The People. — The rich Euphrates valley with its fertile 
plahis was one of the first plac^es where men settled after the 
Flood (§ 1). Here the Tower of Isabel was projected and 
partly built. The inliabitants that remained after the confu- 
sion of languages appear to have been Ilamites (§ 2). But 
this valley was much less walled up than that of the Nile. 
Hence it invited longer to peaceful immigration and was at 



52 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§37 

the same time less protected against hostile inroads. Thus it 
was that successive waves of tribes from the Arabian desert 
were able to greatly affect the original population. In the 
southern part, Chaldea, the Hamitic language by and by 
yielded before the Semitic and became a "dead language." 
But the bulk of the inhabitants always remained Hamitic in 
appearance and blood. They preserved in large measure the 
characteristics of the older generations who had been the first 
bearers of civilization in the valley. The change was much 
greater in tlie Nortli. The Assyrians not only adoi)ted the 
language of the invaders but became mainly Semitic in blood 
— akin to the Arabs. 

There was a great difference between the populations of the 
two countries. The men of the South (Chaldeans, or Baby- 
lonians) were quick-witted, industrious, gentle, pleasure-loving, 
fond of literature and of peaceful pursuits. The hook-nosed, 
larger-framed, hercer Assyrians cared mainly for war and the 
gains of commerce, and had only such arts and learning as 
they could borrow from their neighbors. They delighted in 
cruelty and gore and their kings boasted of deeds which would 
siianu' a modern ruler. In the old inscriptions, they brag in- 
cessantly of torturing, flaying alive, and impaling thousands of 
captives. Numerous are the pictorial representations which 
perpetuate in stone the memory of these royal brutalities. 

37. The Early City-States. — As in Egypt, so in this double 
valley there clustered many cities at an early time, perhaps be- 
fore 5000 B.C. Each such city was a " state " (§ 11, note) by 
itself, under its own king, and it controlled the surrounding 
hamlets and farming territory. These little states often waged 
war with one another and with outside invaders ; but they also 
managed to develop the culture which was to characterize the 
country in its historic age. Each city, indeed, had a literature 
of its own, written in libraries of brick (§ 48), and our scholars 
are learning more of this ancient period every day from the 
study of the remains recently discovered. Only four cities, 
out of scores, will be mentioned in this book, — four leading 



§38] EXPANSION INTO SYRIA 53 

cities, whose names, too, are familiar from the Old Testament, 
— Accad (Agade), Ur, Babylon, and Nineveh. The first three 
are in the southern Euphrates district : Nineveh is in Assyria, 
on the Tigris. 

Gradually, war united the rival states into larger ones ; and 
then contests for power among these, with outside conquests, 
gave rise to three great empires, whose story we shall survey 
rapidly. Two of these empires were in the south, with their 
chief center at Babylon (First and Second Babylonian Em- 
pires). Between their two periods there arose the still 
mightier Assyrian Empire, with Nineveh for its capital. 

An empire is a state containing many sub-states and one ruling state. 
Egypt was called a kingdom while it was confined to the Nile valley, but 
an empire when its sway extended over Ethiopia and Syria (§ 30). 

38. Early Attempts at Empire. — About 2800 b.c, Sargon,^ king 
of Accad, made himself ruler of all Chaldea. Then in a series of 
victorious campaigns, he carried his authority over the northern 
part of the river valley, and even to the distant Mediterranean 
coast. His empire fell to pieces with his death, from lack of 
organization ; but his campaigns had transplanted the Euphrates 
cidtare into Syria to take lasting root there. Chaldean traders 
spread the seed more widely. For more than two thousand 
years, the fashions of Chaldea were copied in the cities of 
Syria ; and her cuneiform ^ script was used, and her literature 
was read, by great numbers of people all over western Asia. 

Ur succeeded Accad as mistress of the land. But the cities of 
the valley were soon overrun by new barbarians from the Ara- 
bian desert. These conquerors finally adopted thoroughly the 
civilization of the country, and took Babylon for their chief city. 

1 The Babylonians of about 600 b.c. rediscovered a certain inscription of 
the son of Sargon, long buried even in that day, and fixed his date from it at 
3200 years before their own time. Very recent discoveries, however, prove 
that they placed him a thousand years too early. Davis' Readings, Vol. I, 
No. 17, gives the Babylonian story. 

2 See § 47 for explanation of this term. 



54 THE TIGRIS^EUPHRATES STATES [§39 

39. The First Babylonian Empire begins strictly with the 
rule of Hammurabi, who lived about as many years before the 
birth of Christ as we do after it. In 1917 b.c. he completed 
the consolidation of the states of the Euphrates valley into one 
empire. Later, he extended the rule of Babylon to the bounds 
of Sargon's conquests — and with more lasting results. Ever 
since, the name Babylon has remained a symbol for magnifi- 
cence and power. 

During the fourth century of this empire {about 1500 b.c), it 
came in contact with the " New Empire^' of Egypt to tchich for a 
time it lost most of its dominions (§ 30). 

40. The Assyrian Empire. — Assyria first comes to notice in 
the nineteenth century n.o. Tt was then a dependent province, 
belonging to the Babylonian Empire. Six hundred years later 
it had become a rival ; but its supremacy begins two centuries 
later still, about 1100 b.c. New invaders from Arabia were 
harrying the Euphrates country ; and this made it easier for 
Tiglath-Fileser I, king of Assyria, to master Babylonia. This 
king ruled from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean; but 
after his death his dominions fell apart. The real Assyrian 
Empire dates from 745 b.c. 

In that year, the adventurer Pul seized the throne. He had 
been a gardener. Now he took the name of the first great con- 
queror, Tiglath-Pileser (II), and soon established the most 
powerful empire the world had so far seen. It was larger than 
any that had gone before it (map opposite), and it icas better 
organized. In the case of each of the earlier empires, the sub- 
ject kingdoms had been left under the native rulers, as tribu- 
tary kings. Such princes could never lose a natural ambition 
to become again independent sovereigns ; and if they attempted 
revolt, the people were sure to rally loyally to them as to their 
proper rulers. Thus this loose organization tempted constantly 
to rebellion. It now gave way to a stronger one. The subject 
kingdoms were made more completely into parts of one state 
and were ruled by Assyrian lieutenants (satraps). We call such 
subordinate parts of an empire by the name provinces. This 



40] 



THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 



55 



new invention in government was Assyrians chief bequest to the 
later ivorld. 

The next great Assyrian king was Sargon II, who carried 
away the Ten Tribes of Israel into captivity (722 b.c.). This 
transplanting of a rebellious people, or at least of the better 
classes among them, to prevent rebellion, was a favorite device 



HK Vfc/» iSKJ ' 

I. A c ^ V^"^ 




11 V i; \ 






MEDITERRANEAN 
SEA Tj ' 

P\LF 



"V. 





V '-^N \ |> J \ 



Ml I) 1 y V 



bW^^^^ 



''^;x ^\ 



^'^m. 



'ARABIA 



Babylonian Empire, 1900 n.C. 

Assyrian Kinplre, 070 B.C. 

incliiding: uUo old liahylonlan Knipire 

SCALE OF MILES 



100 200 



"iSo iSo 




of the Assyrians. Sargon's son, Sennacherib, is the most 
famous Assyrian monarch. He attacked the king of Judah,^ 



1 The Bible attributes the conquest of the Ten Tribes to Salmanassar 
(Shalmanezer), Sargon's predecessor, under whom the siege of Israel's capital, 
Samaria, was begun. As to the difference in the spelling of oriental names 
by Catholics and Protestants see Pope, The Catholic Student's Aid to the 
Bible, p. 418 ff. 

2 Kings xix, 20-37. For the Assyrian story see Davis' Readings, Vol. I, 
No. 12. 



50 TIIK TKJKIS EUPHRATES STATES [§41 

hut \w will be better rcimMiibonMl from the lUhlc account t)f a 
mysterious (lestruction of his army, perhaps in another ex- 
pedition, — smitten by '' tlu' angel of tlu' Lord." This is the 
incident eonuneniorated by Byron's lines: — 

"Tho Assyrian c:\u\v down like a wolf on thi> fold, 
And his cohorts wen' ulcaniini:; with nurjilt' and ,i;old. 

Like loavos of the forest when autiunn hath blown, 
That host, on the morrow, lay withered and strown." 

The emj)ire rt^covered cpiitdvly from this disaster; and in 
Cu'2 K.e. Senn:udierib's son, I'Jsar/i<i(f(I<))i, subdiu'd Kj^ypt (§ .'>!). 
7V//.S' (Vds the second jtoh'tieal union of the I'Jo.st. It was nuudi 
more (H)mplett> than the tirst one of si'veral centuries earli(>r 
(vj ,'>()) ; and the territory was lar^^er, for the Assyrians were 
reaidiinj;- out west^ and east into the lu'W rei^ions of Asia Minor 
aiul of Media on the Plateau of Iran. 

41. Fall of Assyria, — This wide rule was short-lived, — 
liappily so, for no other great empire has ever so delighted in 
blood. Disagreeable as it is, the stiulent should read one of 
the records in whiidi an Assyrian king exnlts over his fiendish 
cruelties. The following one is by Assur-Natsir-Pul, 850 n.c. : — 

"They diil not embraee my feet. With cmnbat and with slaughter I 
attaeked the eity and captured it ; three thousand of their lighting men 
I sU>w with the sword. ThiMV spoil, tlieir goods, their oxen, and their 
sheep 1 carried away. Tlie numcnnis captives I burned with lire. I cap- 
tured many of tlie soldiers alive. 1 cut otT the hands and feet of some ; 
1 ctU oft' the noses, the eaiv, and the lingers of others ; the eyes of the 
numerous soldiers 1 put out. I built up a pyramid of the living and a 
iwranud of heads. In the middle of them I suspende<l their lieads on 
vine stems in the neighborhood of their eity. Their yoiuig nuMi and their 
maidens I burned as a holocaust. The city I overthrew, dug up, and 
burned with lire. I annihilated it." 

Of another city: "The nobles, as many as had revisited, 1 Hayed; 
with their skins I eoveretl the pyramid. Some t>f them I imnuired in the 
midst of the pyramid ; others above the pyranud 1 impaled on stakes ; 
others rounil about the pyramid I planted on stakes.'' 

See also Sennacherib's boast, at the close oi No, 12 in l^avis' Ixradings, 
Vol. I. 



§42] TlIK ASSYRIAN EMPIRE 57 

A<];,iinst such CTuelty and against the crushing Assyrian 
taxation, there rankled a passionate hatred in the hearts of the 
oi)|)r(^sscd j)e()|)h^s.^ After twenty years of subjection, Egy[)t 
broke away. Twenty years later, I>abylon follow(Ml. Scythian 
liordes poured in repeatedly from the nortli, to dc^vastate the 
eni])irc; and in (>()() the new ])ower of the McaIch (§ 72), aided 
by liabylonia, ('a))tur(!d Nineveh itself. Tlu^ Assyriiin Knipire 
disaj)|)(!ar(Ml, and Uk; j)roud " (;ity of blood," which had razcid 
so many otliei- citi(!s, was given over to sack and pillage. Two 
hundnnl years later tlie ({r(H!k Xenophon could not (iven learn 
the name of the crumbling ruins, wIjcu he came upon them, in the 
" Retreat of the Ten Thousand" (§ 257). All signs of human 
habitation vanished, and tluj very site was forgotten, until its 
rediscovery in recent times. 

Ancient and modern judgments u])on Assyria are at one. 
Nahum closed his passionate exultation, — " All that hear the 
news of thy fate shall clap their hands over thee; for whom 
hath not thy wi(;kedness attticted continually." And says Dr. 
Davis (Introduction to No. 14 of his Readimja, Vol. I): "Its 
luxuri(!S aiul retincunents were all borrowed from other lands: 
its insatiable love of <',on(pu^st and slaught(u- was its own." 

42. The New Babylonian Empire. — IJabylon had risen in 
many a iiercc; riivolt during the live; centuri(;s of Assyrian rule. 
Sennacherib declan^s, with great exaggeration certainly, that 
on one occasion he razed it to tlie ground in punishment: "I 
laid the hous(!S waste from foundation to roof with fire. 
Temple and tower I tore down and thn^w into the canal. I 
dug ditches through the city, and laid waste its site. Greater 
than the deluge was its annihilation." 

1 n ()2r> came a successful rebellion. Tluui (as noticed in § 41 ) 
Babylonia and Media soon shared between them the old Assyr- 
ian Empire. The Second r>abylonian Empire lasted less than 
a century. The middle half of the period — the most glorious 

iThe student should read the terrible denunciation of Nineveh by the 
Hol)n;w jjroph.^t in the year of its fall (Book of Nahum, iii, I-ID). Cf. also 
Isaias xiii, lG-'22, and Jereuiias 1 and li. 



r)S 



TlIK TKUUS Kl'IMlliA'PKS STATES 



[§43 



part, (KM -^dl n.c. I'mIIs to the rci^ii of XiibuclKxlonosoi'. The 
reviviiitJj K^"y})li;Mi jjowcr, uiuUm- Ncco, \v:is c^hockod in its effort 
to exteml its swav into Asia (v? .'>L*). Rebellious .lerusalem was 
sacked, aiul the flews were carried away into the Babylonian 
eaptivity. The aiu'ient. limits of tlu> l^'irst Knipire were 
rest.onul, with some additions. Babylon was rebuilt on a more 

ma,uniiieent seale, and 
the anei(Mit engineer- 
ing works were re- 
newed.^ But in 538, 
soon after this reij]^n, 
Babylon ftdl bcl'ore the rising- [>ower of the Persians (§ 72). 
and her independent history eanie to ;ui end. 



T>Hr>TtTt^ Yfi=^T»^^ 



N \iu'c 



SOCMF/rV, INDl'STKY, (M'l/rUKE 

43. The king was surroundtvl with t>very thing that eonld 
awe and (diarm the masses, f'xt raordinary niagnitioenee and 
splendor removed him from the eommon ])e()ple. lie gave au- 
dience, seated on ;i golden throne covered with a purple canopy 
which was supported by pillars glittiM'ing with [)recions stones. 
All who came into his presence prostrateil themselves in the 
dust until bidden to rise. 1 lis ruh^ was absolute ; but he worked 
through a. large body o\' trusti'd otlicials, largtdy taken from the 
priests. 

44. Classes of Society. --( 'hah h»a had no class like the nobles 
of I'igypt. Wealth counted tor nu)re. and birth lor less, than in 
that country. Ther(> were really oidy two tdasses, — rich and 
poor, with a. mass o\' slaves. 

The }}ea(ia)its tilled tht^ rich land in misery. As in l^'gyi)t 
they paid for tlu'ir holdings with half of the produce. In a 
poor y(\ir, this lel"t> them in ilebt lV>r seed and living. The 
creditor could charge exorbitant interest; and, if not paid, he 
eouhl levy not only u]H)n tlu* debtor's small goods, but also npon 
wift» or I'hild, or uin^n the person of the farmer himself, for 



1 Neburh;ulno/./;u's dwii iU'i-ount is given in Davis' Eeadings, Vol. I, No. 13. 



§44] 



SOCIETY AND (MILT I IKK 



59 



sliivt;ry. As early as tlu! iinic, of J laiiiinurabi (§§ 39, 45), liow- 
ever, the law ordered that siieli slav(U'y should last only three 
years. 

The vicallhy dass included hii)(h)wners, ofiicials, })rofessional 
men, monc^y lenders, and merchants. The merchant in partic- 
ular was a proniinc'nt figure. The j)osition (jf (Jhahhja, at the 




Colossal Man-ukast in Alahastkr. — From the Palace of SaiK'»'i (now in 

the Louvre). 



head of the Persian Gulf, made; its cities tlie natural mart of 
exchange between India and Syria ; and for centuries, Babylon 
was the great commercial center of the ancient world, far more 
truly than London has been of our modern worhl. Even the 
extensive wars of Assyria, cruel as they were, were not merely 
for love of conquest : they were largely commercial in purposCy — 
to secure the trade of Syria and Phoenicia, and to ruin in 



60 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§45 

those lands the trade centers ^ that were competing with 
Nineveh. 

45. Law and Property. — In 1902 a.d., a French explorer 
found a valuable set of Babylonian inscriptions containing a 
collection of 280 laws. This ''code" asserts that it was 
enacted by Haninuirabi (§ 39). It is the oldest known code of 
laws in the world; and it shows that the men for whom it was 
made were already far advanced in civilization, with many 




Assyrian Contract Tablet in Duplicate. — The outer tablet is broken 
and shows part of the inner original, which fouUl always be consulted if 
the outside was thought to have been tampered with. 

complex relations with one another. It tries to guard against 
bribery of judges and witnesses, against careless medical 
practice, against ignorant or dishonest building contractors. 
(About a tenth of the code is reproduced in Davis' Eeadhi(fs, 
Vol. I, No. 20.) 

Other discoveries prove that rights of property were carefully 
guarded. Deeds, wills, marriage settlements, legal contracts 
of all kinds, survive by tens of thousands. The numerous 
signatures of witnesses, in a variety of " hand writings,'' testify 
to a widespread ability to write the difficult cuneiform text. 

1 Damascus, Jerusalem, Tyre, and others whose names have less meaning to 
us to-day. Tyre, often besieged and reduced to a tributary state, was not 
actually captured, owing to her mastery of the sea. 



§47] SOCIETY AND CULTURE 61 

From the contracts we learn that a woman could control property 
and carry on business independently of her husband. 

46. Law and Men. — Criminal law is the term applied to 
that portion of a code which relates, not to property, but to 
the personal relations of men to one another. Here the code 




Assyrian Taklets, showing the; older hieroglyphics and the later cuneiform 
equivalents (apparently for the purpose of instruction). 

of Hammurabi in many provisions reminds us of the stern 
Jewish law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 

" If a man has caused a man of rank to lose an eye, one of his own 
eyes must be struck out. If he has shattered the limb of a man of rank, 
let his own limb be broken. If he has knocked out the tooth of a man 
of rank, his tooth must be knocked out," 

Injuries to a poor man, however, could be atoned for in 
money. 

" If he has caused a poor man to lose an eye, or has shattered a limb, 
let him pay one maneh of silver " (about $32.00 in our values). 

47. Cuneiform Writing. — The early inhabitants of Chaldea 
had a system of hieroglyphs not unlike the Egyptian. At first 
they painted these on the papyrus, which grew in the Euphrates 
as well as in the Nile. At a later time they came to press the 



62 THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES [§48 

characters with a sharp metal instrument into clay tablets 
(which were then baked to preserve them). This change of 
material led to a change in the written characters. The pic- 
tures shriveled and flattened into wedge-shaped symbols, which 
look like scattered nails with curiously battered heads. (This 
writing is called cuneiform, from the Latin cioieus, wedge.) 

The Semitic conquerors adopted this writing and used it in 
such minute characters — six lines to an inch sometimes — 
that some authorities believe magnifying glasses nnist have 
been used. This surmise was strengthened wlien the explorer 
Laj^ard found a lens among the ruins of the Nineveh library. 

48. Literature. — The remains of Chaldean literature are 
abundant. Each of the numerous cities that studded the valley 
of the twin rivers had its library, sometimes several of them. 
A library was a collection of clay tablets or bricks covered witli 
cuneiform writing. In Babylon the ruins of one library con- 
tained over thirty thousand tablets, of about the date 2700 b.c, 
all neatly arranged in order. Originally the libraries contained 
papyrus rolls also, but these the climate has utterly destroyed. 

A tablet, with its condensed writing, corresponds fairly well 
to a chapter in one of our books. Each tablet had its library 
number stamped upon it, and the collections were carefully 
catalogued. The kings prided themselves on keeping libraries 
open to the public ; and Professor Sayce is sure that " a con- 
siderable portion of the inhabitants (including many women) 
could read and write.'- ^ 

The literary class studied the '' dead -' language of the pre- 
Semitic period, as we study Latin; and the merchants were 
obliged to know the languages spoken in Syria in that day. 
The libraries contained dictionaries and grammars of these 
languages, and also many translations of foreign books, in 
columns parallel with the originals. Scribes were constantly 
employed in copying and editing ancient texts, and they seem 

1 The evidence he collects in his Social Life among the Babylonians, 41-43. 
" The ancient civilized East was almost as full of literary activity as is the 
world of to-day," adds the same eminent scholar, in an extreme statement. 



48] 



SOCIETY AND CULTURE 



63 




An AssYKiAN "Book." — All octaiiou Assyrian brick, now in the British 
Museum ; alter Sayce. This represeutatiou is about oue third the real size. 



64 



THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES 



[§ 49 



to have been very careful in their work : when they couki not 
make out a word in an ancient copy, they tell us so and leave 
the space blank. 

49. Science. — In Geometry the Chaldeans made as much 
advance as the Egyptians ; in Arithmetic more. Their notation 
combined the decimal and duodecimal systems. Sixty was a 
favorite unit, because it is divisible by both ten and twelve : 

it was used as the hundred is 
by us. 

Scientific Medicine was hin- 
dered by a belief in charms 
and magic; and even Astron- 
omy was studied largely as a 
means of fortune-telling by 
the stars.^ Some of our boy- 
ish forms for '' counting out " 
— " eeny, meeny, mlny, moe," 
etc. — are remarkably like the 
solemn forms of divination 
used by Chaldean magicians. 




An Assyrian Dog. — Relief on a clay 
tablet; after Rawlinson. 



Still, in spite of such superstition, important progress was 
made. As in Egypt, the level plains and clear skies invited 
to an early study of the heavenly bodies. The Chaldeans fore- 
told eclipses, made star maps, and marked out on the heavens 
the apparent yearly path of the sun. The " signs of the zodiac " 
in our almanacs come from these early astronomers. Every 
great city had its lofty observatory and its royal astronomer, 
and in Babylon, in 331 B.C., Alexander the Great found an un- 
broken series of observations running back nineteen hundred 
years. As we get from the Egyptians our year and months, so 
from the Chaldeans we get the iveek (with its " seventh day of 

1 For hundreds of years the stars were believed to have intiuenee upon 
human life, and a class of fortune tellers claimed to be able to discover this 
hitiuence, and to foretell the future, by studyiuj^ the heavens. This pretended 
science is called astrolofiy, to distintruish it from real astronomy. It lasted in 
England as late as the days of Queen Elizabeth ; and all through the middle 
ages ua Europe astrologers were often called "Chaldeans." 



50] 



SOCIETY AND CULTURE 



65 



rest for the soul ") and the division of the day into hours, with 
the subdivision into minutes. Their notation, by 12 and 60, we 
still keep on the face of every clock. The sundial and the water 
clock were Assyrian inventions to measure time. 




FKA<iMKNT oi' Assyrian *' DKLU(iK-TAHLKT," with part of the story 
of a deluge. 

50. Chaldean Legends. — Besides this scientific and scholarly 
literature, the Babylonians had many stories, including an 
ancient collection of legends which claimed to carry their his- 
tory back seven hundred thousand years, to the creation of 



66 



TllK TKJKIS lU'lMlRATKS STATKS 



l§r.i 



the world. TIumi- stm-v o{' tho civatioii rosonibloil, in many 
features, the aeeouiit in {\\v HibU^ : ami one of their h\uemis 
eoneerneil a *• ih^liiue," from Nvhii-h only one man — i'avm-ite of 
the gods — was saved in an ark, with his family and with mie 
pair of every sort o( beasts. These stories, howt>ver, have an 
exagg-erated style, and laid; the noble simplieity o( the l>ible 
narrativ<\ 

51. Industries and their Arts. — Move than tlu^ in her aneient 
peoples, the men of the Kuphrates made praetieal use of their 
seienee. They nnderstood tlie Ivrcr and pdlli'i/, and used the 
air/i in makim;- vaulted drains and aqueduets. They invented 

the pottfrs ic/ucl ami 
an exeeilent .^f/stem of 
(cciijihts and nwasinrs. 
Their nu\isures were 
based on the ieng-tli of 
the tinker, breadth of 
the liaud. and leui^th 
of tlu^ arm ; and, with 
the system of weii^'hts, 
they have eome down 
to us through the 
GreelvS. The sym- 
bols in the " Apothe- 
earies' 'I'able '* in our arithmeties are l>abylouian in origin. 
l>ooks upon aip'ii'Hltnn' passed on the Ixiby Ionian knowledge 
of that subjeet to tiie (^reelvs and .\rabs. 'I'hey had surpass- 
ing skill in CKttiiuj (H')iis, enameling, inlaying, l-'very well-to-do 
person had his seal with whieh to sign letters and legal }>apers. 
Tlie eiieaper sort w ere o( baked elay, but the rielun- nuni used 
engraved preeious stones, in the form of eylinders, arranged to 
revidve on an axis of nunal. Thousands of these have been 
found, Sonu'' of thenn made of jasper or ehali'edony or onyx, 
are works of art whieh it would be hard to surpass tivday. 
Assyrian looms, too, produeed tiie tinest of muslina and of tleeey 
ivooh'na, to whieh the (/vr/'gave the uiost brilliant eolors. Tho 




IVKIVN (.'Vl.lNUKK SkaI 



iso('ii';tv and (utlture 



67 



rii'li wore loni; robes of tlu)S(^ clot, lis, (hn'oi'MliHl willi emhroiiUM'- 
i(>s. Tapestries and carix'ls, also, woiultM-l'iilly colored, were 
woven, for wiills and floors and beds. In many such industries, 
little advance has been made since, so far as the products are 
concerned. 

52. Architecture and Sculpture. — 'V\\o. I'uph rates valley had 
no stone and liltl(> wood. JJrick making', therefore, was, next 
to ai^rienlt.urc\ the most im|)ortant industry. Ordinary houses 




Impression fhom a Kin<;'s Cylini>ek 8ioai-. — 'J'ho timiro in the air repre- 
stMits llu' uod who protects the Ivliij;- in liis [UM-ils. 

were built of cheaj) tiun-dn'ed bricks. The stime material was 
used for all but the outer courses of the walls of the palaces 
and tcnnples^; but for these outside faces, a kiln-baked brick 
was used, much like our own. With only tluvse im})erfect 
materials, the I^abylonians constructed marvelous tower-temples 
and elevated gardens, in imitation of mountain scenery. The 
"ITanuinij: Gardens," built by jMebuchadnezzar to please his 
wife (from the JMedian mountains), rose, one terrace uj^on an- 
other, to a height of one hundred and fifty feet. They were 
counted by the Greeks among the " seven w^onders of the 



iThc extensivo use of sun-driod brick in Chaldean cities explains their com- 
plete decay. In the eonrse of ayes, after heini; abandoned, they sank into 
shapeless nionnds, indistlMunishable from the snrronndiui; i)lain. 



68 



THE TIGRIS-EUPHRATES STATES 



52 



world." The Babyloniaii j)alaces were usually one story only 
in height, resting upon a raised platform of earth. But the 
teviplcs rose stage upon stage, as the drawing opposite shows, 
with a different color for each story. 

Assyria abounded in excellent stone. Still for centuries her 
builders slavishly used brick, like the people from whom they 
borrowed their art. Finally, however, they came to make use 
of the better material about them for sculpture and for at 
least the facings of their public buildings. Thus in architec- 




A Lu>.\ Hint. — Assyrian reliol'; from Hawliiist»n. 

ture and sculpture, though in no other art, Assyria, land of 
stone, excelled Babylonia, land of brick. In the royal palaces, 
especially, the ahnost unlimited power of the monarch s, and 
their Oriental passion for splendor and color, produced a sump- 
tuous magniticence which the more self-restrained modern world 
never equals. 

The following description of a palace of ancient Nineveh is taken from 
Dr. J. K. Hosnier's The Jeics. The passage is partly condensed. 

*' Upon a huge, wide-spreading, artificial hill, faced with masonry, for 
a platform, rose cliff-like fortress walls a hundred feet more, wide enough 
for three chariots abreast and with frecinent towers shooting up to a still 
loftier height. Sculptured portals, by wliich stood silent guardians, 
colossal figures in white alabaster, the forms of men and beasts, winged 
and of majestic mien, admitted to the magniticence within. . . . Upward, 
tier above tier, into the blue heavens, ran lines of colonnades, pillars of 
costly cedar, cornices glittering with gold, capitals blazing with vermilion, 
and, between them, voluminous curtains of silk, purple, and scarlet, inter- 



53] 



RELIGION AND MORALS 



69 



woven with threads of ^old. ... In the interior, stretching: for miles, 
literally for miles, the builder of the palace ranged the illustrated record 
of his exploits. . . . The mind grows dizzy with the thought of the 
splendor — the processions of satraps and eunuchs and tril)Utary kings, 
winding up the stairs, and passing in a radiant stream through the halls 
— the gold and embroidery, the ivory and the sumptuous furniture, the 
pearls and the hangings." 

A description with more precise details and less "color" is given in 
Davis' Headings, Vol. I, No. 10. See also No. 18, " An Assyrian City." 



12 ft. 



3() ft. ii 



Section of the Temple of the Seven Spheres, according to a 
" restoration." —From Rawlinson. 

H is a Bacreil Bhrine. The soven Htafros he-low It were colored In order from the bottom as 
f(»llow8 : black, oranf,'c, red, polden, yellow, blue, silver. 



53. Religion and Morals. — It cannot now be ascertained at 
what exact date and in what way polytheism began to strike 
root in this cradle of mankind. Whether there were still 
many adorers of the true God in Chaldea at the time when 
Abraham left this country for the west, that is, about 2000 b.c, 
is disputed. The idolaters certainly formed an overwhelming 
majority. 

It is possible that each of the many little city-states (see 
§ 37) originally worshiped the true God, but each under a 
different name; and that these names by and by came to 



70 TIIK TIGKIS KITHKATES [§5;^ 

signify nuuiv gods, each of whom Avas the ku^al deity of the 
respective tribe. W hen the small oommimities, bv peaceful 
means or otherwise, combined more and more politically, the 
•• gods ** of each found worshipers in all the triWs thus united, 
perhaps by Iving othcially recognized. (^IIull, S. J., Aivhaic 
Beli'ofons, pp. 108 tf.) Like all those nations with whom the 
original idea of God is obscured, the Chaldeans worshiped the 
powers of nature, the sun and the moon, tlnmder. the day. etc., 
whicli were elevated to the rank of gixls or demi-gods. 

Babylonian idolatry was accompanied by delxising rites, in 
which drunkenness and sensuality figured as acts of worship. 
Such revolting features remained through all Ixibylonian 
history. This as well as the enactments of the laws (^$ 4l> ; 
also Cath. Emyclopadia, 11. ISr^i show that morality in historic 
tiuu's was not on a high level among the nations on the 
Euphrates and Tigris. 

Marduk, the gixl of the city of Ixibylon. tinally Ivcame 
something like the sole god, at least the supreme g^xl, of the 
whole empire. Later on Xelxx the gixl of Borsippa. rose to a 
similar prominence side by side with Manluk. Whether as a 
result of this " development " or as a remnant of the original 
tradition of mankind, some most Wautiful hymns and prayers, 
discovered amid the wild chaotic vagaries of Chaldean poly- 
theisu\. reveal a sublime idea of a Suprcuu^ Innng. which, 
however, was not shared by the masses. (See extracts Wlow.) 

The Life after Death. — The Chaldeans did not Wstow so much 
care upon their dead as did the Egyptians. However, each 
tomb had an altar for otYerings of tVxxl. A man was buried 
with his arms, a girl with her scent Kettles and ornaments. 
The condition of the soul after death seems to have been con- 
sidered as a disagreeable, gloomy state, in or near the tomb. 
Yet. as in the case of Egypt (see § lV>^, there were not 
wanting those who believed in a more perfect retribution: 
some souls were to sutler in a hell of tortures, others who 
knew how to secure the divine favor were to dwell amid varied 
pleasures in the distant Isles of the Blest. 



§r);^I HKLiniox Axn mc^hals 71 

From a Chaldemi Ji>/nnt, composed in tho (.'ity of I'r, before 
tho tinu' of Abraham. 

" Father. Un\>i- sutToriim ami full of forgiveness, whose hand upholds the 

life of all mankinil ! . . . 
Fii-st-born, omnipotent, whose heart is ininiensity. and there is none 

who may fathom it ! . . . 
In heaven, who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme ! 
On earth, who is supreme ? Thou alone, thou art supreme ! 
As for thee, thy will is made known in heaven, and the angels bow 

their faces. 
As for thee, thy will is made known upon earth, and the spirits below 

kiss the ground." 

From a)) As,'<f/n'a)i prai/cr/or remi!<sioit of sins. (Xote the 
sense of sin ami ho}>e oi' forgiveness.) 

•• O my god. my sins are many ! . . . (^ my goddess, . . . great are 
my misdeeds ! I have committed faults and I knew them not. I have 
fed upon misdeeds and I knew them not. ... 1 weep and no one comes 
to me ; I cry aloud and no one hears me ; . . . I sink under afHiction. I 
turn to my merciful god and I groan, Lord, reject not thy servant, — and 
if he is hurled into the roaring waters, stretch to him thy hand I The sins 
I have committed, have mercy upon them ! my faults, tear them to pieces 
like a garment! " 

(See also Davis' Eeadinipi, Vol. T, Nos. 22 and 24.) 

Note. — Articles found buried with the dead do not necessarily imply 
that they were thought useful to the deceased person. We bury our priests 
in their vestments, our othcere with their swords. Well-to-do persons of 
both sexes ai-e laid to rest in costly robes and sometimes with precious 
jewelry. Yet nobody imagines that these things will be needed ; they refer 
not to the future life but to that which was ended, or simply express affection. 
Therefore the presence of such articles in the tombs of ancient nations 
alone does not prove that the nations held erroneous opinions regarding 
the life after death : to nnike such a statement we must have other in- 
dications, as inscriptions or the literature of the time. Even the fact that 
food and drink were placed in the tombs allows of a correct interpretation; 
this may have been considered as a token of love, or in a time when 
material sacrifices wei"e custouuiry. may even have been an offering to the 
true Grod. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE MIDDLE STATES 

The two Syrian peoples that demand notice in a book of this 
kind are the Phoenicians and the Hebrews. Each of these was 
an important factor in history. 

TllK rilOKNICIANS 

54. Early Sailors. — Before 1000 B.C. the riioenieiaiis had be- 
come the traders of the irorld. Their vessels carried most of 
the coiunierce of BabyUniia and Eg^'pt. Ph(^enician sailors 
manned the ship that Neco sent to circumnavigate Africa. 
Indeed the fame of these people as sailors so eclipsed that of 
earlier peoples that it has been customary to speak of them as 
•' the first men who went down to the sea in ships." 

The Phoenicians dwelt on a little strip of broken coast, shut 
off from the rest of the continent by the Lebanon Mountains 
(map, page 77). The many harbors of their coast invited them 
seaward, and the *' cedar of Lebanon • ' furnished the best of 
masts and ship timber. When history first reveals the iSIed- 
iterranean, about 1000 b.c, it is dotted with the adventurous 
sails of the Phoenician navigators, and for centuries more they 
are the only real sailor folk. Half traders, half pirates, their 
crews crept from island to island, to barter with the natives 
or to swee}> them otf for slaves, as chance might best offer. 

Farther and farther their merchants daringly sought wealth 
on the sea, until they passed even the Pillars of Hercules,^ into 

1 The Greeks jjave this name to two lofty, rocky hills, one on each side of 
the Strait of Gibraltar. They were i;enerally believed by the aneients to be 
the limit of even the most darinj; voyage. Beyond them lay iucouceivable 
dani:;ers. (See map after page Vo'2.) 

72 



§56] A SAILOR-FOLK 73 

tlie open Atlantic. And at last we see them exchanging the 
precious tin of Britain, the yellow amber of the Baltic, and the 
slaves and ivory of West Africa, for the spices, gold, scented 
wood, and precious stones of India. 

55. The chief Phoenician cities were Tyre and Sidon. For 
many centuries, until the attacks by Assyria in the eighth 
century B.C., these cities were among the most splendid and 
wealthy in the world. Ezechiel (xxvi, xxvii) describes the 
grandeur of Tyre in noble poetry that teaches us much regard- 
ing Phoenician trade and life : — 

" O thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, which art the merchant 
of the peoples unto many isles, . . . thou, Tyre, hast said, I am per- 
fect in beauty. Thy borders are in the heart of the seas ; thy builders 
have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir trees. 
. . . They have taken cedars from Lebanon to be masts for thee ; they 
have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the isles of Kit- 
tim [Kition in Cyprus]. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt 
was thy sail, . . . blue and purple from the isles of Elishah [North 
Africa] was thy awning, . . . All the ships of the sea were in thee 
to exchange thy merchandise. . . . Tarshish [Tartessus, southwestern 
Spain] was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches. 
With silver, iroji, tin, and lead they traded for thy wares. Javan [Greek 
Ionia], Tubal, and Mesheck [the lands of the Black and Caspian seas], 
they were thy traffickers. . . . They of the house of Togarmah [Arme- 
nia] traded for thy wares with horses and mules. . . . Many isles were 
the mart of thy hands. They brought thee bones of ivory and of ebony." 
Ezechiel names also, among the articles of exchange, emeralds, coral, 
rubies, wheat, honey, oil, balm, wine, wool, yarn, spices, lambs, and 
goats. 

56. Place in History. — Tlie Phoenicians icere the first colo- 
nizers of the sea, — the forerunners of the Greeks, Spaniards, 
Portuguese, and English. They fringed the Mediterranean with 
trading stations, many of which grew into cities ; but these 
" colonies " never depended on their mother cities politically. 
Chief among them was Carthage in northern Africa, founded 
about 800 B.C. Later on this city was to engage in a long strug- 
gle with the Greeks and the Romans. (See map after page 132.) 



74 



THE PHOENICIANS 



(§57 



Phoenician articles are found in great abundance m the an- 
cient tombs of the Greek and Italian peninsulas — the earliest 
European homes of civilization. In a selfish but effective way, 
the Phoenicians became the " missionaries " 
to Europe of the culture that Asia and Africa 
had developed. It was their /miction, not to 
create civilization, hut to spread it. Especially 
did they teach the Greeks, who were to teach 
the rest of Europe. 

The chief export of the Phoenicians, some 
one has said, was tJie alphabet. They were 
only one of several early peoples (as we have 
recently discovered) to develop a true alpha- 
bet ; but it is theirs which has come down to 
us through the Greeks and Romans. When 
the Egyptians conquered Syria about loOO 
B.C. (§ 30), the Phoenicians Avere using the 
cuneiform script of Babylon, with its hundreds 
of difficult characters. It 
was natural that, for the 
needs of their commerce, 
they should seek a simpler 
means of communication : 
and about 1100 B.C., after a 
gap of some centuries in our 
knowledge of their writing, 
we find them v/ith a true alphabet of twenty- 
two letters. They seem to have taken these 
from the symbols for sounds among the Egyp- 
tian hieroglyphs (§ 22), though some scholars 
think they got them from Crete (§ 96). 

57. Society. — The Phoenicians in them- 
selves do not interest us particularly. They spoke a Semitic 
tongue (§ 36) ; but their religion was revolting, especially for 
the cruel sacrifice of the firstborn to Baal, the sun god, and for 
the licentious worship of Astarte, the moon goddess. 



c 
'c 

8 
a. 


6 

-o 
O 


c 
£ 

c2 


&< 


A 


A 


"s 


^ 


B 


> 


e 


<c 


A 


>D 


D 


^ 


>r 


E 


^H 


EH 


H 


1\ 


K 


K 


I 


U 


L'L 


V^ 


A\ 


M 


M 


A/ 


N 


o 


O 





9 


9 


9Q 


q 


PR 


R 


vV 


^2 


^S 


r 


T 


T 



Parts of 
Alphabet. 



^ 


Eiryittian 
Hieroj.'-lyph. 


<^ 


Egyptian 
Script. 


^ 


Phoenician. 


A 


Ancient 

Greek. 


A 


Ancient Latin 


A 


Later Latin. 


Growth of the 


Letter A. 



^58] THE HEBREW STORY 75 

" Syria was the confluence and the sink of the nations. The 
result was an extreme degree of degradation, low conceptions 
of the gods, wild forms of worship dissociated from morality 
and vitiated by licentious extravagance." (Hull, S. J., Arch. Rel.) 

Several cities were grouped loosely about Sidon and Tyre : 
but they never formed a united state. Satisfled with the proflt 
of trade, they submitted easily, as a rule, to any powerful 
neighbor — Assyria or Egypt. As tributaries, they sent work- 
men to construct the magniiicent buildings of Assyria or to 
develop the mines of Egypt, and they furnished the fleets of 
either empire in turn. 

About 730 B.C. Tyre was reduced in power, by attacks from 
Assyria ; but it remained a great mercantile center until its 
capture by Alexander the Great (332 b.c). From this down- 
fall the city never fully recovered, and flshermen now spread 
their nets to dry in the sun on the bare rock where once its 
proud towers rose. (Ezechiel xxvi, 5.) 

THE HEBREWS 

58. The Patriarchs. — As the Phoenicians were men of the 
sea, so the Hebrews were to carry out their mission, the great- 
est any nation has ever had, in the interior of the continent. 
They are also called Israelites or Jews. No nation has such 
accurate records of its origin and history as they. God Him- 
self called their ancestor, Abraham, a descendant of Sem, away 
from his home, the ancient city of Ur (§ 37), where idolatry 
had become general. God ordered him to settle in what is 
now Palestine, and promised to make him the father of a great 
people which was to occupy this very land. In him " all the 
nations of the world should be blessed," that is to say, the Re- 
deemer of the world, promised to Adam after the fall, was to 
come from his descendants. Abraham " believed the Lord." 
It must have been about 2000 b.c. that he emigrated from XJr. 
But for a short stay in Egypt caused by a famine, he as well as 
his son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob, lived a nomadic life in 



76 



THE HEBREWS 



60 




the "Promised Land," for two centuries. God repeated to 
Isaac and Jacob the pledges given to Abraham. 

59. Sojourn in Egypt. — Jealousy arising between Jacob's 
twelve sons, one of them, Joseph, Avas sold b}^ his heartless 
brothers as a slave, but he eventually became the prime minister 

of the king of Egypt. 
Soon again a famine 
broke out. Jacob sent 
his sons to Egypt to find 
relief. Here they were 
recognized by Joseph. 
He invited his father 
Jacob to come with 
his whole offspring 
and settle in Europe. 
" Seventy souls " they 
arrived and found in 
the northeast corner, the region of Gessen (Goshen), a congenial 
dwelling place. All this happened under the HA'ksos kings. 
In Gessen the Children of Israel grew into a large people. 

But the time came when the Hyksos rulers were dislodged 
by the native princes of Thebes. " There arose a new king 
who knew not Joseph.*' Might not the numerous Israelites, 
in the case of a new attack of nomads from the northeast, side 
with the invaders ? So a systematic persecution began. The 
king " made their life bitter with hard work in clay and brick 
and with all manner of service." (Exodus i, 14.) Finally he 
ordered killed all the male infants born of Israelite mothers. 

60. The Exodus. — Among those saved from royal brutality 
was Moses, whom God eventually chose to lead His people 
out of the " house of bondage " into the land which He had 
promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
But the " ten plagues of Egypt " had to come, before Pharaoh 
was inclined to do the bidding of the God of Israel. 

The people first turned to the fastnesses of Mount Sinai, 
where God renewed with them the covenant He had made with 



60] 



OUTLINE OF THEIR STORY 



77 



THE SYRIAN 
DISTRICT 



^ 1^^ iVr Tf^^ E S V''"' 



their patriarchal ancestors. Under thunder and lightning He 
gave to them the Ten Commandments, which are chiefly a 
wonderfully concise and yet complete code of the natural law. 
They promised to 
observe it faith- 
fully, together with 
all the ceremonial 
and other laws which 
Moses would make 
known to them. God 
in return promised 
them a special care, 
such as He did not 
bestow on any other 
nation. " TJiey shall 
be My people and I 
ivill be their GocV 
He added pledges of 
temporal prosperity 
and of an independ- 
ent national exist- 
ence. But the great- 
est was the renewal 
of the promise given 
to Abraham, that 
the Redeemer of the 
world would be born 
from among their 
number. They were 
to have the honor 
of keeping ready 
for Him a place 
where the worship 
practiced. 

Then began the forty years' wandering in the desert, during 
which they were miraculously fed by the manna. During this 




of the true God would be actually 



78 THE HEBREWS [§62 

period Moses perfected the " Law," consisting of detailed cere- 
monial, civil and political regulations. After Moses' death a 
new generation entered the " Promised Land " and undertook 
its conquest under the leadership of Josue. The corrupt popu- 
lation of Palestine had long provoked the wrath of the Al- 
mighty. The land was now divided among the Children of 
Israel according to their twelve tribes. Contrary to the in- 
junction of God, they did not destroy all the former settlers, 
and the survivors of the latter, though subject to Israel, proved 
a very disastrous neighborhood. Chietly by mixed marriages, 
they frequently seduced numerous Israelites to idolatry and 
the gross immorality connected therewith. 

61. The Judges. — In their new abodes, the people at first 
were without any political central authority. Each commu- 
nity had local government, but there was no common bond 
to unite the whole Hebrew population. It was during this 
period that on account of their many violations of the covenant, 
chiefly by idolatry, God alloAved portions of the people to 
be oppressed by the surrounding races, especially by the 
powerful Philistines. When they returned to Him in sorrow 
and contrition. He often raised up among them men of great 
bravery and capability, who freed them from their enemies. 
These men retained their influence even after peace was re- 
stored and acted as rulers ixnd judges. Hence this period is 
called the time of the Judges. They were, however, no stable 
institution and none of them controlled the whole people. The 
only strong bond of Unity during this time of political weak- 
ness was their religion. Unity of belief, a centralized priestly 
organization, and yearly pilgrimages to the Holy Tabernacle 
which had accompanied their fathers through the desert, pre- 
vented the nation from falling apart or disappearing among 
their neighbors who were so often their conquerors. 

62. Kingship. — The last of the judges and at the same time 
the greatest of the prophets was Samuel (§ 68). To him the 
ancients of the people signilied repeatedly that the nation 
wished to have a king like the races around them. Finally, 



62] 



OUTLINE OF THEIR STORY 



79 



inspired by God, he anointed Saul king of His people. Saul, 
however, although he won great victories over their enemies, 
was ultimately rejected, because he arrogated to himself 
priestly privileges. 

God now selected David, the shepherd boy, who became the 
most powerful king of Israel. He succeeded in completely 
unifying the nation and in extending its boundaries from the 
Red Sea to the Euphrates. He fortified and beautified the 



i 








■ f ^ . ift T Ki.^^jfite'^^S^ta 








Kf^fflHBM^. ^fe^f^*:.' "'.^^^jMHHI 




W^S^S^^^^'sm^^^'mKt^ 




mm^-^, :iiggE 


fe^ 


^^^^^^^^^^^■K" ' '^.ii-"' f^ rff"^ ) , 1 1 ^oHMJ^HrJlril^^^^H^H^^I 


^^^^HHR^^fi- 


I^b^k^^^^^HH^SmZ^^^bIVM 


tl 



Thk Tkmple of Solomon (Kcstoriiliun;. 
(From Herder's Kouvers.-Lexikon.) 



city of Jerusalem, which he made his capital, perfected 
the organization of the priesthood, and enriched the Hebrew 
literature with the Psalms, the greatest lyric poems of the 
world. As a reward for his zeal in the service of God he re- 
ceived the solemn pramise, that the Redeemer of the world 
would come from his family, and that, if his descendants re- 
mained faithful to God, they would be forever preserved in 
their royal power. 



80 THK IIKBREWS [§04 

David was succecdcMl by his son iSoh))no)i, faiuoiis for his 
■wisdom, who with the aid ot" rhot'iiician worknu'ii built the 
splendid temple of ,Ierusalem, whieh Avas to be the eenter of 
Divine worship for the nation. He also erected a magnitieent 
i\)yal palace, and by his commercial connections with foreign 
countries enriched the whole people. The first part of his 
reign is the most glorious period of the history of Israel. But 
at length the heavy taxes made necessary by his extravagance 
and luxury embittered his subjects and made them ripe for 
revolt. Moreover, while polygamy Avas not forbidden by the 
Mosaic hiAv, Solomon, contrary to the law, took wives from 
pagan nations, who eventually perverted his heart, so much so 
that he even built temples to tlieir gods and took ])art in their 
sacrifices. Consetpiently a j)rophet announced to him that he 
had forfeited (Jod's favor. Hut for the sake of David his 
father, the destruction was not to come in his own days, nor 
would the house of David be deprived of the dominion over 
the entire nation. 

63. Division of the People. — After Solomon's death, ten of 
the tribes separated themselves from Roboam his son. fluda 
alone, with the insignificant tribe of Benjamin, remained faith- 
ful to the hereditary ruler. »)eroboam, a commander of the 
army, who had fled the country under Solomon, was proclaimed 
king by the ten tribes. Thus, after 975 h.c, the nation was 
divided into the northern kingdom of Israel, with Samaria as 
capital, and the southern kingdom of Jiida, with Jerusalem as 
capital. 

64. Kingdom of Israel. — In the kingdom of Israel idolatry 
became very general, so that many pious Israelites, ancients 
and priests emigrated to »Iuda and flerusalem, fIerolH)ani, the 
first king to alienate the people from Jerusalem and the 
tem})le, erected golden calves at Dan and Bethel, the northern 
and southern points of his kingdom, and invited his subjects to 
worship them. The fiery zeal of the prophet Elias alone pre- 
vented Israel from bending the knee to Baal, the Phoenician 
sun-god. The kingdom last.'d L\")2 vears. It had in all nine 



§ (W)| OIITIJNI^: Ol^^ ^IMIKlli STORY 81 

teen kiii^s, Ix'loii^iuf^ to nine diiriu-cnt dynasties ; seven of these 
dynasties were entirely rootiMJ out by tliosc^ \vl»o sueeeeded 
them. One king ridgned hut a few months, anotlier a few days. 
Only a singh; king, .lehu, showed true zeal for the Law, and 
even he toh^rated the worship of the golden ealvs, although he 
abolished that of Haal. 

At the time when the IIei)re,w nation thus weakcMied itscdf, 
the great empirics on the l<]uj)h rates and the Nile also were in 
a state of deeline and showed little aggressiveness, ^riie wars 
of the two Israelitic kingdoms recorded in Holy Seripturc^ were; 
waged l)etween themselves and with the small nati(Mis around 
them. But after Assyria had rectovered under the usuri)er 
l*ul (§ 40), it at oiKH^ began a policy of extension and soon its 
boundaries reached as far as tiie confines of Isracd. In 722 
H.c. Salmanassar and his su(;c(!Ssor Sai-gon II (•on(piered 
Samaria and led the king ()se(; with almost the whoh^ jx'oph^ 
into captivity. Tiu; ca})tives were settled in the most distant 
districts of tlu^ Assyrian I^^mpire. These, " the lost ten tril)es," 
never returned to th(^ huid of their fatluu-s. ('olonists were 
sent to repeople the (h^sertcMl land ; they fused with the I'cmain- 
ing Israelites, and thus produci^l tlu; half-])agan ])0]julation of 
the Samaritans. 

65. The Kingdom of Juda, though mu(Oi smaller, enjoyed 
greater advantages in |)ossessing tlu^ njitional temple and with 
it the center of the priesthood, and in having the family of the 
greatest kings as their rulers, it lasted nearly four hundred 
years, and in this time liad twenty kings, all of the house of 
David. Only for five years a woman, the pagan Athalia, a 
cruel tyrant, held the reins of government. She destroyed the 
whole royal family with the sole exception of one child, Joas, 
who was for some time concealed in the t(^m})l(\ Not all of 
the twenty kings were truly religious. The four last ones 
practiced paganism openly and showed a supreme contempt 
for the i-eligion of David their great an(;estor. 

66. Destruction. — Nal)U(t]iodonosor, king of the second Baby- 
lonian Knipire (§ 42), destroyed rierusahuu and tin; kingdom. 



82 THE HEBREWS (§67 

III' lirst iiuulc fhula tributarv. KSevenil times it rose against 
hiiu, aiul as early as GOG n.c he led away the foremost men 
into eai)tivity. Finally, he appeared with a strong army before 
the walls of »Ierusalemand took it after a siege of several years 
in 58() is.c. King Sedecias saw his own sons slain before him; 
then his eyes were })ut out, and laden witli chains he was carried 
to Babylon, Avhere he died in prison. The liabylonians utterly 
(h'stroyed the splendid city ; the king's palace and the niag- 
luticent temple sank in ashes ; the people, save some poor 
vinedressers and husbandmen, were forced to emigrate to the 
Eui)lirates. 

The prophet Jeremias had foretold this catastrophe and 
warned king and priests and people for years. Persecution 
was his reward. He was now permitted to stay with the mis- 
erable remnant of the population. It was then that he sang 
over the ruined city those touching lamentations which resound 
in our churches every year during Holy Week. 

" How doeth the city sit solitary that was full of people ! 
How is the mistress of the nations become a widow ! 
How is the queen of provinces become tributary ! 
The ways of Sion mourn, because none come to her solemnities, 
All her gates are broken, 
Her priests sigh, 
Her virgins are in atliiction, 
And she herself is oppressed with bitterness. 
All ye that pass by the way attend and see, 
If there be any sorrow like to my sorrow." 

67. Restoration. — This severe chastisement had a lasting 
effect. In their captivity the people again turned to God. 
Their greatest desire was to go back to the land of their fathers, 
and to rebuild the temple and the Holy City. After fifty years 
this desire was fultilled. As soon as Cyrus, king of Persia, 
had made himself master of Babylon, he allowed the Jews to 
return. A large number availed themselves of his permission, 
and city and temple rose from their ruins. Their land was 
now ruled by Persian governors. The Persian rule, however. 



(;si 



OUTLINE OF TIIFIK STOItY 



83 




JioiaisA 



\v;is inild; and nuiiiy ])rivik'.ges (listin^uislicd this jn-oviiu^o 
Iroiu tlio rest of tlio oin])in^ (§ 72). 

By constant and most flagrant violation of God's law, kings and 
people had lost the claim to that independent national existence which 
had been promised to their ancestors. But in view of their sincere 
repentance God did not take away from them their spiritual mission 
with regard to the future Redeemer of mankind. The temple was once 
more the most hallowed spot on earth. The land of Juda and the new 
little nation were the only place on earth where " Wisdom dwelt." 
Tfor did the people ever again fall away from the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. But the house of David did not reascend the throne. 
It disappeared in obscurity until the time of "Joseph, the husband of 
Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ." 

68. The priesthood <>f tho Ihibrews was not conferred by any kind of 
ordination like tlie (Miristian sacranumt of Holy Ordc^rs. According; to 
the will of God, Moses made his brother Aaron hi,i;h priest, which (li<;nlty 
was always to descend from the actual lii<,di priest to his eldest son. In 
like manner all the other desecMulants of Aaron wcn'O to be tbt^ ])riests of 
the nation. They and they alone could perform the i)riestly functions in 



84 THE HEBREWS [§68 

the temple. Nobody else could "become" priest. Moses and Aaron 
were of the tribe of Levi ; all the other male members of this tribe, called 
the levites, were to be the servants and assistants of the priests in their 
sacred office. Crippled persons, however, or such as were affected with 
diseases or found guilty of immoral life were not permitted to act as either 
priests or levites. Unlike the other tribes (§ 60) the tribe of Levi had no 
territory assigned to it but lived in cities scattered over the whole land. 
To the support of the priests and levites the whole nation contributed the 
tithe — one-tenth of the agricultural products of the soil. 

An important part in Hebrew history is played by the prophets. 
Each prophet represents a special act of God's providence towards His 
people, because each one was called and sent individually. Each prophet, 
therefore, had to prove his mission by some kind of miracle. The prophets 
were somewhat like the missionaries of our own times. They remindtd 
the people of its duties and did not hesitate to rebuke the powerful, even 
the kings. To give force to their preaching, they frequently foretold the 
chastisements which the wrath of God would inflict in case of continued 
unfaithfulness. To encourage the people in times of distress, they 
pointed to the wonders of Divine mercy and kindness, and announced 
many particular circumstances of the life and death of the Redeemer and 
the greatness of his spiritual empire. Their title — prophet = one who 
foretells — expresses only one part of their important office. 

The Hebrews have not contributed any invention or discovery or 
other advancement to the material civilization of the world. Theirs was 
an infinitely higher mission. Of their literature we know beside some 
other comparatively unimportant productions only the sacred books of 
the Bible. 1 They are for us an infallible source of faith. But even from 
the merely secular point of view, they not only contain a great amount 
of historical and philosophic truth, but have furnished the world with 
the most sublime works of lyric poetry ever produced. 



For Further Reaping. — Pages 13-168 in Ecker's School Bible 
treat of the matter condensed on the above few pages ; nearly every sec- 
tion will engage the interest of young minds. — Coppens' Choice Morsels, 
pp. 12-800, offers a selection of the most important chapters of the 
Bible which refer to this subject. It leaves the original scriptural lan- 
guage entirely intact. — Let the student always keep before his eyes the 
systematic arrangement as outlined above. 



iThe Talmud was not written before the second century after Christ. It is 

a voluminous collection of laws with their interpretations. It claims to be 
based on the Bible, but with mauy Jews it is practically taking its place. 



§68] OUTLINE OF THEIR STORY 85 

Exercise. — 1. Locate on the map four centers of civilization for 
1500 B.C. ; and note wlien they would naturally come into touch with 
one another. (One more center for this same age — Crete — is yet to be 
treated §§ 93-97.) 2. What new center of civilization appeared between 
1500 and 1000 b.c. ? 



CHAPTER V 

THE PERSIAN EMPIRE 

69. The Map grows. — So far, we liave had to do only with 
the tirst homes of civilization — the Nile and Euphrates valleys 
— and with the middle land, Syria. Assyria did reach out 
somewhat, east and west (see map, page BCi) ; but her new 
regions had no special importance in her day, and made no 
contributions to civilized life. But shortly before the over- 
throw of Babylon, two new centers of power appeared, one on 
either side of the older held. These were Persia and Lydia. 

70. Expansion on the West. — Lydia was a kingdom in west- 
ern Asia .Aliuor. Somewhat before 550 b.c. its sovereign, 
Croes«.s, united all Asia Minor west of the Halys Kiver under 
his sway. This made the Lydian Empire for a time one of 
the great world-])owers (see map following). The region was 
rich, especially in metals; and the wealth of the monarch so 
impressed the Greeks that " rich as Croesus " became a by- 
word. Croesus counted among his subjects the Greek cities 
that fringed the western coast of Asia Elinor. We have noticed 
that, shortly before, Greeks had been brought into close touch 
with Egypt. From this time, historij has to do with Europe as 
well as with Asia a)nl Etjijpt : and soon that new field was to 
become the center of interest. 

Lydia's (nvn gift to the world was the invention of coinage. 
As early as (mO h.o., a Lydian king stamped upon ])ieces of 
silver a statement of their weight and purity, with his name 
and picture as guarantee of the truth of the statement. Until 
this time, little advance had been made over the old Egyptian 
method of trade, excej^t that the use of silver rings and bars 
had become more common. The Babylonians, along with their 

86 



§72] RISE AND GROWTH 87 

other weights and measures, had taught the world to count 
riches in shekels, — a certain weight of silver, — but there were 
no coined shekels. The ring and bar "money" had to be 
weighed each time it passed from hand to hand; and even then 
there was little security against cheaper metals being mixed 
with the silver.^ The true money of Lydia could be received 
anywhere at once at a fixed rate. This made all forms of 
trade and commerce vastly easier. Other states began to 
adopt systems of coinage of their own. Ever since, the coinage 
of money has been one of the important duties of governments. 

We must not suppose, however, that the old sort of " barter " vanished 
at once. It remained the common method of exchange in all but the 
great markets of the world for centuries ; and in new countries it has 
appeared, in the lack of coined money, in very modern times. In our 
early New England colonies there were times when people paid taxes and 
debts "in kind," much after the old Egyptian fashion. One student at 
Harvard college, who afterward became its president, is recorded as paying 
his tuition with " an old cow." 

71. Expansion in the East. — On the farther side of the 
Euphrates and Tigris lay the lofty and somewhat arid Plateau 
of Iran. This was the home of the Medes and Persians. These 
peoples appeared first about 850 k.c, as fierce barbarians, 
whom Assyria found it needful to subdue repeatedly. ( Grad- 
ually they adopted the civilization of their neiglibors ; then, 
about G25 n.c, a chieftain of tlie Medes united the western 
tribes of the plateau into a hrm monarcliy; and in (>()(>, as we 
have seen, this new power conquered Assyria. 

We are now ready to take up again the story of the growth of the 
great Oriental empires, where we left it at the close of Chapter III. 
Chapter IV, dealing with the small Syrian states, was a necessary inter- 
ruption to that story. 

72. Rise of the Persian Empire. — The destruction of Assyrian 
rule, which we noted toward the close of § 41, took place some 

1 In all tliis ancient period, silver was more valuable than gold, and so was 
taken for the standard of value. 



88 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§72 

years before 000 k.(\ Then the civilized world was divided, 
for three generations/ between four great powers, — Babylon, 
Egypt, Lyaia, and Media. Most of that time, these kingdoms 
were bound together in a friendly alliance ; and the civilized 
world had a rare rest from internal war. INledia, it is true, 
busied herself in extending her dominions by war with barbar 
ous tribes on the east. By such means she added to her terri- 
tory all the Plateau of Iran and the northern portion cf the old 
Assyrian Empire. This made her far the largest of the fcmr 
states. lUit in 558 n.c, C>/nis, a tributary prince of the Persian 
tribes, threw off the yoke of the Medes and set u}) an inde- 
pendent Persian monarchy .- 

Then Persia cpuckly became the largest and most powerful 
emi)ire the world had known. The war Avith Media resulted 
in the rapid concpiest of that state. This victory led Cyrus 
into war with Lydia and Babylon, which were allies of Media. 
Again he was overwhelmingly victorions. He concpiered 
Croesns of Lydia and seized upon all Asia Elinor. Then he 
captured Babylon, and so was left without a rival in the 
Euphrates and Syrian districts. A few years later his son 
subdued Egypt. Tints the 7iew empire ijiclnded all the former 
empires, together with the iietc ilistricts of Iran and Asia Minor. 

With the Greeks Persia came into conflict, about thirty years after 
the death of Cyrus. The story belongs to European history (§^ 158 ff.). 
It is enough here to note that the Persians were finally defeated. Their 
empire lasted, however, a century and a half more, until Alexander the 
Great conquered it and united it with the Greek world (§§ 276 ff.). 

1 It is time for the student to have a definite understanding of this term, 
which is used constantly in measuring time. A (feneration means the aver- 
age interval that separates a father from his son. This corresponds in length, 
also, in a rough way, to the active years of adult life, — the period between 
early manhood and old age. It is reckoned at tirenti)-rii''e or thirty years. 

2 This prince is known in history as Cyrus the Great. He is the earliest 
sovereign whose name we distinguish in that way. A student may well make 
a special report to the class upon the stories connected with his life. Any 
large history of ancient times gives some of these stories ; and they may be 
found, in the original form in which they have come down to us, in a transla- 
tion of Herodotus. See also Davis' Headings, Vol. I, Nos. 25 and 26. 



§74] RISE AND GROWTH 89 

73. Extent of the Empire. — The field of history now widened 
again. The next three Persian kings (after Cyrus and his 
son) added vast districts to the empire : on the east, modern 
Afghanistan and northwestern India, with wide regions to the 
northeast beyond the Caspian Sea ; and on the west, the Euro- 
pean coast from the Black Sea to the Greek peninsula and 
the islands of the ^Egean. 

This huge empire contained about seventy-live million people. 
Its only civilized neighbors were India and Greece. Else- 







Imprkssion from Persian Cvlindkr Seal. 

where, indeed, it was bounded by seas and deserts. The 
eastern and western frontiers were farther apart than Wash- 
ington and San Francisco. The territory included some two 
million square miles. It was four times as large as the Assyr- 
ian Em})ire, and equaled nu)re than half modern Europe. 

74. Industry and Art. — Originally, the Persians were lowly 
shepherds. Later, they were soldiers and rulers. After their 
sudden conquests, the small population had to furnish garri- 
sons for all the chief cities of the empire, while the nobles 
were busied as officers in the vast organization of the govern- 
ment. Accordingly, Persian art and literature were wholly 
borrowed, — mainly from Babylonia. The cuneiform writing 



90 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE [§75 

was adopted from that land ; and even the noble palaces, 
which have been rediscovered at Persepolis, were only copies 
of Assyrian palaces, built in stone instead of in clay. Persia's 
services to the ivorld were three : ^ the immense expansion of 
the ma}) already discussed ; the re^yulse of Scythian savages 
(§ To) ; and a better organization of government (§§ 76, 77). 
The religion of the Persians, too, was remarkable (78). 

75. Persia and the Scythians. — About 630 B.C., shortly be- 
fore the downfall of Nineveh, the frozen steppes of the North 
had poured hordes of savages into western Asia (§ 40). By 
the Greeks these nomads were called Scythians, and their in- 
roads were like those of the Huns, Turks, and Tartars, in later 
history. They plundered as far as Egypt; and they were a 
real danger to all the culture the world had been building up 
so painfully for four thousand years. Assyria and Lydia both 
proved helpless to hold them back ; but the Medes and Persians 
saved civilization. The Medes drove the ruthless ravagers 
back to their own deserts ; and the early Persian kings made 
repeated expeditions into the Scythian country. By these 
means the barbarians were awed, and for centuries the danger 
of their attacks was averted. 

Darius, the greatest of the successors of Cyrus, seems to 
have justified his conquests on the ground of this service to 
civilization. In a famous inscription enumerating his con- 
quests, he says : " Ahura-Mazda [the God of Light] delivered 
unto me these countries when he saw them in uproar. . . . 
By the grace of Ahura-Mazda I have brought them to order 
again." 

The lengthy inscription from which this passage is taken is cut into 
a rock cliff, 300 feet from the base, in three parallel columns, in different 
languages, — Persian. Babylonian, and Tartar. It served as the •- Rosetta 
Stone" of the cuneiform writing (§ 5). Enough of the Persian was 
known so that from it scholars learned how to read the Babylonian. 
Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 27, gives a large part of this inscription, 

1 Observe that these services were connected with political history, — as 
we might expect with a people like the Persians. 



76] 



ORGANIZATION 



91 



which is one of the most important documents of early history, throw- 
ing much light upon Persian life and ideals. 

76. The Imperial Government. — The empires which came 
before the Assyrian had very simple machinery for their 
government. The tribu- 
tary states kept their old 
kings and their separate 
languages, religions, laws, 
and customs. Two sub- 
ject kingdoms might even 
make war upon each other, 
without interference from 
the head king. Indeed, 
the different kingdoms 
within an empire re- 
mained almost as separate 
as before they became 
parts of the conquering 
state, except in three re- 
spects : they had to pay 
tribute ; they had to assist 
in war; and their kings 
were expected, from time 
to time, to attend the court 
of the imperial master.^ 

Plainly, such an empire 
would fall to pieces easily. 
If any disaster happened 
to the ruling state, — if a 
foreign invasion or the unexpected death of a sovereign oc- 
curred, — the whole fabric might be shattered at a moment. 
Each of the original kingdoms would become independent 




Persian Queen: fragment of a bronze 
statue. The dress seems very " modern." 



iThe brief empire of the Jews, for instance, had been of this nature. 
Solomon, the Book of Kings tells us, "reigned over all the kingdoms . . . 
unto the border of Egypt; they brought presents and served Solomon." 



92 TIIK PERSIAN EMPIRE [§76 

ap^ain ; and then would follow years of bloody war, until some 
king built up the empire ouce more. Peace and security could 
not exist under such a system. 

Assyria, it is true, had beij:uu to reform this system. The 
great Assyrian rulers of the eighth century were not si m ply- 
conquerors. They were also organizers. They left the subject 
peoples their own laws and customs, as before ; but they broke 
up some of the old kingdoms into satra2)(es, or provinces, ruled 
by appointed officers (§ 40). 

The system, however, was still unsatisfactory. In theory 
the satraps were wholly dependent upon the will of the im- 
perial king; but in ])ractice they were very nearly kings 
themselves, and they were under constant temptation to try 
to become independent rulers, by rebellion. 

This was the plan of imperial government as the Persians 
found it. They adopted and extended the system of satraps ; 
and Darius, the fourth Persian king (521-485 n.c), introduced 
tJn'ee checks upon rcbcUion. In each of the twenty i)rovinces, 
power was divided between the satraj) himself and the com- 
mander of the standing army. In each jirovince was placed 
a royal secretary (the ^'King's Ear") to communicate con- 
stantly with the Great King. And, most important of all, 
a special royal commissioner (the " King's Eye "), backed with 
military forces, appeared at intervals in each satrapy to in- 
quire into the government, and, if necessary, to arrest the 
satra}). 

Darius is well called " ///^ Organizer.^^ Political organiza- 
tion advanced no farther until Roman times. Not much had 
been done to ])romote a spirit of nniti/ among the diverse 
peoples of the enii)ire. Each still kept its separate language 
and customs. Still, for the age, the organization of Darius 
was a marvelous work. It was the most satisfactory ever 
devised by Orientals ; and indeed it was nearer to the later 
Roman imperial government than to the older and looser 
Asiatic system of kingdom-empires. The modern Turkish, 
empire, in its best days, has used this system. 



§77] 



ORGANIZATION 



93 



77. Post Roads. — The Piirsians, too, were more ilioiii^litful 
of the welfare of their subjects than the Assyrians liad been. 
To draw the distant parts of the empire closer, Darius built 
a magnificent system of post roads, with milestones and ex- 
cellent inns, with ferries and bridges, and with rcdays of 
horses for the royal couriers. The chief road, from Susa to 
Sardis (map, after page 84), was over fifteen hundred miles 




Tkhsian r>i{(>i\/K Lion, ;il. Siisa. 



long; and it is said that dispatches werc^ sometimes carried 
its whole length in six days, although ordinary ti'avcd ref[uir('d 
three months. Benjamin Ide Wheeler writ(;s of this great 
highway (Alexander the Gre<(,f, 10()-197) : — 

" All the diverse life of the countries it traversed was drawn into 
its paths. (Marians and Cilicians, Phrygians and (.'ai)i)ad()ciaMs, staid 
Lydians, sociable (Jrceks, crafty Anncnians, rude traders from the 
Kuxine shores, nabobs of Babylon, M(!des and Persians, galloping 
couriers mounted on their Bokhara ponies or line Arab steffds, (uivoys 
with train and state, jxiasants driving their donkeys huhm with skins of 
oil or wine or sacks of grain, statcily caravans bearing the wares and 
fabrics of the south to exchange for the metals, slaves, and grain of the 
north, travelers and traders seeking to know and exploit the world, — all 



04 Till'] PKIv\SIAN EMPIRE [§78 

wcvv tluM-c, Miitl all were sale uiulcr tlic prolrclion of an <Miii)ir(i the road- 
way of which pierced thi^ strata of many tribes and many cidtures, (md 
hripcd st'f (he irarli/ d-iiiixiiKj.'''' 

78. Religion and Morals. — We know liMlc about Ihc kind 
1)1' roliL;i()ii wliicli llic iVMsiaiis practiced before Miey came info 
llie IimeliL;lit of iiislory. Wlien tliev appear tliey had a(loj)t('(l 
Mi(> feacliiui^-s of Zoroaster (about lOOO i'..c.'), wliicli are laid 
down in the Arcsfa, the Persian Uible. Accoi-diiiL;- to the 
A vesta, there is one i^ood g-od, called Ahura. Mazda,, or Or- 
niuzd, who created all L^ood thiiii^'s, and another god, called 
Ahi-inian, who is bad and created all evil thiiiLjs. A continuous 
struggh" is .u'oini;- on between these two j^'ods, in which man 
by Ins rre(> actions must necessarily take part. Those wlio 
observe t he command nu'uts of Ahura Ma/da will be rewarded 
in the next, world ; if any one sins, the do(.r is oj)en for rejxMit- 
ance and forijiveiu'ss. r.ut those whose evil deeds outweigh 
tJie good will suffer in a t.errible hell of tire. 

in the (>n(l Ahura Ma/da will compier. There will be a, 
geiuM-al resurrection from death, the whole earth will be 
cl(>ansed by lire, the bad god, Ahriman, will be destroyed, and 
all, ev(Mi those that are in hell, will enter upon a. state of 
eternal ha|)piness. I'^ach god is surrounded by spirits, which, 
however, are his creatures. The outward sign of Ahura. INlazda., 
and as it were his rolu', is the light; hence their veneration tor 
the sun and the tiri>. 

The moral system, as i'ar as we know, was nobler and purer 
than that of any ancient nation exee[)t the Hebrews. \'irtues 
and vices are enuiiu'rated much as in Christian ethics. Special 
stress is laid on jmrity, material cleanliness included, on char- 
ity and kindness, and on truthfulness. Lying is one of the 
grea.ti'st evils ; "may Ahura. Ma./da. i)rotect this land from the 
hostile inroad, from the bad harvests and from lying." The 
youths i)[' the Tersian nobility wert> trainc'd to ride, tt) shoot 
with tlu> bow, and to tell tlu* truth. Agriculture and faruung 
W(MH» raised to the dignity of religious duties. 

' Date is uiuortaiu. Some scholars put Zoroaster us late as (JOO B.C. 



[§78 HKLimON AND MOFiALS 95 

The kiii^s ol' IN'Tsiii,, while rcrcrriii}^- t,<) Aliur;i, Mii//,(l:i, Ir*!- 
([Uently and asci-ihin^ \a liiiii nil tJicir successes, iievei- ineii- 
tioii the evil god Aliriiiiaii. Did tlicy perlia[>s sec; that this 
part of the (h)eti'ine (;oiitaiii(;d a vc^ry gross (UTor ? The evil 
spirit is a (;reatun; and of (;ourse lac-ks the ])ovv(m- of erc^atiiig. 
Nor will h(; and his "angels" he anniliil;i-t(!d on the last d;iy, 
nor will iicll coiik; to an end, because Our Loi'd says, "thiiir 
worm dietli not ;uid th(! lii'e is not (extinguished." On the 
wliole, liowever, W(^ ui;i,y agree with K. W,. Hull, S.»I., who con- 
sidei'S "the religion of tin; a,ncient I'ersians to lia.ve pr(;s<;i'V<'(l 
the primitive! revcdation in a i'orm most closely a-pproxinuiting 
to its pristine; purity ; the main ideas l)eing retained intat^t, 
and the (!i'i-oneous a,cc.i'el,ioiis heing ol' a sccoudai'v ;ind not 
very bizarre nature;." (ArcJuiic /{dit/iotis, p. llid.) It is 
justly prcisumed that the; lavoi- shown by (!yrus and his suc- 
(Hissors to the !Iebi'(;ws was grea,tly dm; to the similarity be- 
tw(;en the P(;rsian and Jewish religions. 

Coiupiest and dominion corrupted in some; mcasui-e- the; e;ai-ly 
simplicity of the; I'ci-siaiis. If tJicy aJ'te-rwarels we're coiKpicred 
by the (jrr(;e;ks, it was not lor the; suj)e;i-ie)rity e)!" (ire;e;k re;ligion, 
nor for la(;k of bravery, but because ol" improved weapejiis and 
bette;r ge;ne;ia,lsliip. 

In India soriu; 90,000 jxtsodh called I*arHoe;s, the dcscciidaiitH of those; 
who took refuge there wlieiii I'crHJa was forced into Moliarnedanisni, Htill 
profess the religion of ZoioaKte;r, 



For FiiHTriKit Rkaiuno. — There is a good twenty-page treatment of 
the Persian Ktnpin; in li(;njaniiii lele Wheseler's Alexander the (he<it 
(p[). 187-207). On Persian religion see History of Ue/it/ions, Vol. II, 
Sections 1 and 2. 

ExKKcisic. — Would you liave expect(;d the Persians to adf)pl, tin; 
Egyptian hi<!roglyphs or the cuneiform writing? Wliy •' In what ways 
was the organization of the Persian Em[)ire an improvedne'nt upon that of 
the Assyrian ? In what way did Assyrian organization imi)rove upon 
Egyptian ? 



CHAPTER VI 



A SUMMARY OF ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION 



A compact summary, like the following, is best suited for 
reading in class with comment or questions. 

79. The Bright Side. -At ;i, very early diiiv, in the valleys 
of the Nile a,iHl h^upii rates, nuMi developed a, remarkable eiv- 

ili/ation. 'l'h<-'y iu- 
veiiti'd excellent tools 
of hron/e (and later 
of iron), and practised 
many arts and crafts 
with a skill of hand 
that has never been 
sur})asse(l. They 

huilt great cities, with 
pleasant homes for 
(he wealthy, and with 
s|ih'n(lid palaces for 
their ])rinces. They 
leai'ned how to record 
tlu'ir thoughts and 
doings and inventions 
in writing, for one an- 
other and for their (U'scendants. They built roatls and canals ; 
and w ith ships and caravans, they sought out the treasures of 
distant regions. At home they found out rather eihcient 
methods of government. Though only the little nation of 
Israel fully presei'ved the ndigion of original mankind, yet 
nuich of it was saved everywhere and found dignitied expres- 
sion in literature and buildings. Some thiidvcu's rose above 
their surroundings in emphasi/liig moral truth and in ti'aching 
justice and charity. 

96 




I'KUSIAN ,]i:\VKI-K\'. 



§81] BRIGHT AND DARK SIDE 97 

War and trade (iarricd this culture slowly around the eastern 
coasts of the Mediterranean ; and before 1000 li.c. Phoenician 
traders liad scattered its seeds more widely in many regions. 
Five hundred years later, Persia saved the slow gains of the 
ages from barbarian ravagers, and united and organized all the 
civili/cd l<];ist under an effective system of government. 

80. The Dark Side. — Tliis Oriental culture, however, was 
marred by serious faults. 

Its benefits were for relatively few. The immense wealth, for 
instance, was spent chiefly by the kings in gorgeous pomp and 
splendor. 

The form of government generally was the absolute mon- 
arcliy. The king was the sole source of law ; participation of 
the people or even of a nobility in legislation and government 
was practically unknown. The people worshiped tlie monarch 
with slavish submission. 

In Art much was unnatural. Sculpture mingled the mon- 
strous and grotesque with the human ; and architecture sought 
to rouse admiration by colossal size, rather than l)y elegancje. 
Most literature was pompous and stilted, or defaced by ex- 
travagant fancies, — like the story of a king who lived many 
thousand years before his first gray hair appeared. 

Learning teas allied to absurd and evil superstition. Men's 
minds were blinded because tliey had wandered from the true 
notion of God and of man's relation towards Him. Progress 
was hampered by the unrestrained passions of the strong and 
unscrupulous. Most religions (along with better features) fos- 
tered lust and cruelty. 

There ivas little variety in the different civilizations of the 
Orient. They differed in certain minor ways, but not as the 
lat(!r European nations did. Thus they lacked a wholesome 
rivalry to stimulate them to continued progress. Each civiliza- 
tion reached its best stage early, and then hardened into -set 
customs. 

81. The Question of Further Progress. — Whether the Oriental 
world would have made furtlier progress, if left to itself, we 



98 ORIENTAL CIVILIZATIONS [§81 

cannot know surely. It seems not likely. China and India, 
we know, made similar beginnings, but became stationary, 
and have remained so for centuries since. In like fashion, 
the Oriental civilizations which we have been studying appear 
to have been growing stagnant. Twice as long a period had 
already elapsed since their beginning, as has sufficed for all our 
Western growth. Very probably, they would have crystallized, 
with all their faults, had not new actors appeared. To these 
new actors and their new stage we now turn. 



Suggestions for Review 



Let the class prepare review questions, each member five or ten, to ask 
of tlie others. Criticize the questions, showing which ones help to bring out 
important facts and contrasts and likenesses, and whicli are merely trivial 
or curious. The author of this volume does not think it worth while to 
hold students responsible for dates in Part I, unless, perhaps, for a few 
of the later ones. The table in § 158 below may be used for cross refer- 
ence and reviews. It is well to make lists of important names or terms 
for rapid drill, demanding brief but clear explanation of each term, ?.e,, 
cuneiform^ shekel, Hyksos, papynis. Read over the " theme sentences," 
in quotation, at the top of Chapters or Divisions (on pages 1, 11, 15, 80), 
and see whether the class feel, in part at least, their applications. 

Sample Questions: (1) Why is Chaldea (whose civilization has been 
overthrown) better worth our study than China (where an ancient civili- 
zation still exists)? (2) In what did the Egyptians excel the Babylo- 
nians? (3) In what did the Babylonians excel the Egyptians? (4) In 
wliat did the Persians excel both ? (5) Trace the growth of the map for 
civilized countries. (G) Name four contributions to civilization, not 
mentioned in § 79, but important enough to deserve a place there if space 
permitted. 

Caution: Make sure that the terms "empire," "state," "tributary 
state," "civilization," have a definite meaning for the student. (See 
preceding text or footnotes.) 

It does not seem to the author advisable to recommend young high 
school students to read widely upon the Oriental peoples in connection 
with the first year in history. The material in Davis' Readings is ad- 
mirable for all classes. And a few select titles for the school library are 
given in the appendix, from which the teacher may make assignments if 
it seems best. 




Apollon 



GREECE 

AND 

ADJOINING COASTS 

(For General Reference) 

SCALE OF MILES 




26 50 



lonlans 
Dorians 
^Kolians 
Eoute of Xerxes 

L_ 



PAliT II 

THE GREEKS 

We now turn to another empire, that of the Greeks. It is not an ex- 
terior one hut a dominion of the spirit. It extends over the whole vwrld. 
It lasts as long as civilization with its arts and sciences will remain the 
pride of the human mind. — John JJ. von Wioiss. 

STUDY OF TliK MAI'S AFTER l'A(iFS 08 AND 104 

Note the throe great divisions : Northern (irecce (Kpirus and Thcs- 
saly) ; Central Greece (a group of eleven districts, to tlie istliiinis of 
Corinth) ; and the Peloponnesas (the southern [jcninsula). Name the 
districts from I'hocis soutli, and tlie ehifd" cities in (uicli, as shown on the 
map. Whicli districts iiavc; no {;oast ? Locate D(!lphi, Thermopyhie, 
Tempe, I'arnassus, Olympus, Olympia, Salamis, Ithaca, eight islands, 
three cities on the Asiatic side;. Draw the map with the amount of detail 
just indicated. Examine the map frequently in preparing the next lesson. 
( The index tells on vjhat map each (jcixiraphical v,ame used in the book can 
be found, — except in a few cases, like I'acilic Ocean.) 



OHAPTEK VII 

INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 

82. Europe contrasted with Asia. — Asia and l^^^^ypt had de- 
veloped the earliest civilizations. J>ut, for at least half of 
their four thousand years, another culture had been rising 
slowly along the coasts and islands of southern Europe. After 
its separation from the jiarent stock this Euroj)ean civilization 
saw a rather independent development. It was influenced in 
many ways by that of the Oriental nations, but it always kept 

09 



100 THE GREEKS [§83 

a distinct character of its own. Tlie difference tvas due, in 
part at least, to differences in physical r/eograpJn/. Four features 
of European geography were specially important : — 

Europe is a peninsula. TJie sea is easy of access.^ 

Euroi^e has a more temperate climate than the semitropical 
river valleys of Asia ; and food crops demand more cultivation. 
These conditions called for greater exertion upon the part of 
man. Moreover, the natural products of Europe were more 
varied than those of Asia. This led to greater variety in human 
occupations. The beginnings of civilization were slower in 
Europe; but man was finally to count for more there than in 
Asia. 

In contrast witli the vast Asiatic plains and valleys, Europe 
is broken into many sinall districts, tit to become the homes of 
distinct peoples. Thus many separate civilizations grew up in 
touch with one another. Their natural boundaries kept one 
from absorbing the others. So they remained mutually help- 
ful by their rivalry and intercourse. 

Europe could not easily he conquered by the Asiatic empires. 
This consideration was highly important. Some districts of 
Asia, such as western Syria and parts of Asia Minor, had a 
physical character like that of Europe. Accordingly, in these 
places, civilizations had begun, with a character like that of 
later European peoples. But these states were reached easily 
by the forces of the earlier and mightier river-empires ; and in 
the end the "Asiatic character" was always imposed upon 
them. Europe was saved, partly by its remoteness, but more 
by the Mediterranean. 

83. The Mediterranean has been a mighty factor in European 
history. Indeed, through all ancient history, European civili- 
zation was merely " Mediterranean civilization." It never 
ventured far from the coasts of that sea. The Mediterranean 
was the great highicay for friendly intercourse, and the great 

1 Through all "ancient history" (§ 4), "Enrope" means southern and 
central Europe. Russian Europe, indeed, is really part of Asia in geography, 
and it has always been Asiatic rather than European in civilization. 



§85] INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 101 

harrier against Asiatic conquest. Thus, Persia subdued the 
Asiatic Greeks, almost without a blow : the European Greeks 
she failed to conquer even by supreme effort. 

To understand this value of the sea as a barrier, we must keep in 
mind the character of ships in early times. The sea was the easiest 
road for merchants, traveling in single vessels and certain of friendly 
welcome at almost any port. But oars were the main force that drove 
the ship (sails were used only when the wind was very favorable) ; and 
the small vessels of that day could not carry many more people than 
were needed to man the benches of oarsmen. To transport a large 
army, in this way, with needful supplies, — in condition, too, to meet 
a hostile army at the landing place, — was almost impossible, 

84. Greece was typical of Europe in g('ograi)hy and civilization. 
The Greeks called themselves Jlellenes (as they do still). 
Hellas meant not European Greece alone, but all the lands of 
the Jlellenes. It included the Greek peninsula, the shores and 
islands of the Aegean, Greek colonies on the Black Sea, to the 
east, and in Sicily and southern Italy, to the west, with scat- 
tered patches elsewhere along the Mediterranean. 

Still, the central peninsula remained the heart of Hellas. 
Epirus aud Thessaly had little to do with Greek history. 
Omitting them, the area of Greece is less than a fourth of that 
of New York. In this little district are found all the charac- 
teristic traits of European geography. It has been well called 
the "most European of European lands,'^ and it became the first 
home of Eiiro)>ean, cuUnre. 

85. Greek Geography and its Influence. — Certain factors in 
Greek geography deserve special mention even though we re- 
peat part of what has been said of Europe as a whole. 

a. The islands and the patches of Greek settlements on 
distant coasts made many distinct geographical divisions. Even 
the little Greek peninsula counted more than twenty such units, 
each shut off from the others by its strip of sea and its moun- 
tain walls. Some of these divisions were about as large as an 
American township, and the large ones (except Thessaly and 
Epirus) were only seven or eight times that size. 



102 THE GREEKS [§85 

The little states which grew up in these divisions differed widely 
from one another. Some were monarchies; some, oligarchies; some, 
democracies.! In some, the chief industry was trade; in some, it was 
agriculture. In some, the people were slow and conservative ; in others, 
they were enterprising and progressive. Oriental civilizations, we have 
seen (§80), were marked by too great uniformity; the civilizations of 
European countries have been marked by a wholesome diversity. This 
character was found especially among the Greeks. 

h. Mountain people, living apart, are usually rude and con- 
servative ; but /rom such tendencies Greece was saved by the sea. 
The sea made friendly intercourse possible on a large scale, 
and brought Athens as closely into touch with Miletus (in 
Asia) as with Sparta or Olympia. This value of the sea, too, 
held good for different parts of "European Greece" itself. 
The peninsula has less area than Portugal, but a longer coast 
line than all the Spanish peninsula. The very heart of the 
land is broken into islands and promontories, so that it is hard 
to find a spot thirty miles distant from the sea. 

c. Certain products of some districts made commerce very desir- 
able. The mountain slopes in some parts, as in Attica, grew 
grapes and olives better than grain. Wine and olive oil had 
much value in little space. Thus they were especially suited for 
commerce. Moreover, such mountain districts had a limited 
grain supply ; and, if population was to increase, the people 
were driven to trade. Now, sailors and traders come in 
touch constantly with new manners and new ideas, and they 
are more likely to make progress than a purely agricultural 
people. Exchanging commodities, they are ready to exchange 
ideas also. The seafaring Greeks were " always seeking some 
new thing." 



lA monarchy, in the first meaning of the word, is a state ruled by one 
man, a " monarch." An oligarchy is a state ruled by a " few," or by a small 
class. A democracy is a state where the whole people govern. In ancient 
history the words are used with these meanings. Sometimes " aristocracy " 
is used with much the same force as oligarchy. (In modern times the 
word "monarchy" is used sometimes of a government like England, which 
is monarchic only in form, but Avhich really is a democracy.) 




22° Longitude 



East 23° fro 



85] 



INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY 



103 



d. These early seekers found valuable neio things within 
easy reach. Furtiiiiately, this most European of all European 
lands lay nearest of all Europe to the old civilizations of Asia 
and Egyi)t. Moreover, it faced this civilized East rather than 
the barbarous West. On the other side, toward Italy, the 
coast of Greece is cliff or marsh, with only three or four good 
harbors. On the east, howevei-, the wliole line is broken by 




ScKNK IN THE Valk OF Tkmi'e. — Fioui ii photograph. Cf. § 17.*i. 



deep bays, from whose mouths, chains of inviting islands 
lead on and on. In clear weather, the mariner may cross the 
Aegean without losing sight of land. 

e. Very important, too, was the appearance of the landscape. 
A great Oriental state spread over vast jjlains and was bounded 
by terrible immensities of desolate deserts. But, except in 
Thessaly, Greece contained no plains of consequence. It was 
a land of intermingled sea and mountain, ivith everytldrKj upon a 
moderate scale. There were no mountains so astounding as to 



104 THE GREEKS [§86 

awe the mind. There were no destructive earthquakes, or tre- 
mendous storms, or overwhelming Hoods. Oriental man had 
bowed in superstitious dread before the mysteries of nature, 
with little attempt to explain them. But in Greece, nature 
was not terrible ; and men began early to search into her 
secrets. In like manner, Oriental desjyotism gave way to Greek 
freedom. No doubt, too, the moderation and variety of the 
physical world had a part in producing the many-sided genius 
of the people and their lively but well-controlled imagination. 
And the varied beauty of hill and dale and blue, sunlit sea, the 
wonderfully clear, exhilarating air, and the soft splendor of 
the radiant sky helped to give them intense joy in mere living. 
86. Summary. — We have noted live features of Greek geog- 
raphy : the many separate districts ; the sea roads ; the in- 
ducements to trade ; the vicinity of the open side to Eastern 
civilization ; and the moderation, diversity, and beauty of 
nature. Each of these live features became a force in history. 
The Greeks produced many varieties of society, side by side, 
to react upon one another. They learned quickly whatever the 
older civilizations could teach them. They never submitted 
long to arbitrary government, as the great Asiatic peoples did. 
Above all other peoples, they developed a love for harmony and 
proportion. Moderation became their ideal virtue. 



ExKRoisK, — Kevievv the topic — Influeiu-e of Geoijraphy upon History 
■up to this point. See Index, Fhi/sical Geography. 



CHAPTER VIII 

HOW WE KNOW ABOUT "PREHISTORIC" HELLAS 

87. The Homeric Poems. — The Greeks were late in learning 
to use writing, and so our knowledge of early Greek civilization 
is imperfect. Until recently, what knowledge we had came 
mainly from two famous collections of early poems, the Iliad 
and the Odf/sspy. The later Greeks believed that these were 
composed ab(jut 1100 p..c. by a blind minstreP named Homer. 
We still call them " the Homeric poems," though some scholars 
believe that each collection was made up of ballads by many bards. 
The poems were not put into manuscript until about GOO B.C. ; 
but they had been handed down orally from generation to gen- 
eration for centuiies. The Iliad describes part of the ten-year 
siege of Troy (Ilium') in Asia. A Trojan prince had carried 
away the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta; 
and, under the leadership of the great king Agamemnon, 
brother of Menelaus, the chiefs had rallied from all parts of 
Greece to recover her. Finally they captured and burned the 
city. The Odyssey narrates the wanderings of Odysseus 
(Ulysses), one of the Greek heroes, in the return from the war. 

The Trojan war may be fact or fiction.^ In either case, the 
pictures of society in the poems must be true to life. In rude 
ages a bard may invent stories, but not manners and customs.^ 

1 In early times, the poet did not write his poems. He chanted them, to the 
accompaniment of a harp or some such instrument, at festivals or at the meals 
of chieftains. Such a poet is called a minstrel, or l)ard, or harper. 

2 A well-known Homeric scholar has just published an ingenious book to 
prove that there was a real Trojan war, and that it was fought by the Greeks 
to secure control of the Hellespont — and so of the Black Sea trade. Teachers 
will find this latest contribution to the Homeric problem intensely interesting: 
Walter Leaf, Troy : A Study in Homeric Geography , Macmillan. 

3 To-d(iy a novelist inclines naturally to make the people in his story talk 
and act like the people in real life around him. To be sure, now, he may try, 

105 



106 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§88 

Thus these Homeric poems teach ns much about what the 
Greeks of 1000 or 1100 ba\ thought, and how they lived. 

88. Remains in the Soil. — Quite veceiitly another source of 
information has been opened to us. Students of Greek history 
strangely neglected the remains buried in the soil, long after the 
study of such objects in the Orient had disclosed many wonders ; 
but in 1870 a.d. Dr. Schliemann, a German scholar, turned to 
this kind of investigation. He hoped to prove the Homeric 
stories true. His excavations, and those of others since, have 
done a more important thing. They have added much to our 
knowledge of Homer's time, but they have also opened up two 
thousand i/ears of older culture, of which Homer and the later 
Greeks never dreamed. 

89. Henry Schliemann's own life was as romantic as any story in 
Homer. His fatlior wa.s the pastor in a small German village. The boy 
grew up with perfect faith in fairies and uoblins and tales of magic treas- 
ure connected with the old history of the place. His father told him the 
Homeric stories, and once showed him a fanciful picture of the huge 
" Walls of Troy." The child was deeply interested. When he was told 
that no one now knew just where Troy had stood, and that the city had left 
no traces, he insisted that such walls must have left remains that could be 
uncovered by digging in the ground ; and his father playfully agreed that 
sometime Henry should find them. Later, the boy learned that the great 
scholars of his day did not believe that such a city as Troy had ever 
existed. This aroused in him a fierce resentment ; and to carry out his 
childhood dream of finding the great walls of Homer's city became the 
passion of his life. To do this he must have riches. He was very poor. 
Six years he worked as a grocer's boy ; then, for many years more as 
clerk for various larger firms. All this time he studied zealously, learning 
many languages. This made it possible for his employers to send him to 
foreign countries, in connection with their business. In this way he 
found opportunities to amass wealth for himself, and, at the age of forty- 
eight, he was ready to begin his real work. 

purposely, to represent a past age (historical novel), or he may try foolishly to 
represent some class of people about whom he knows little. But in an early 
age, like that of the Homeric poems, a poet cannot know any society except 
the simple one about him, and he knows all phases of that. If he tells a story 
at all, even of a former age, he makes his actors like juen of his own time. 



§91] TROY AND MYCENAE 107 

Three incidents in the explorations are treated in the following 
paragraphs. 

90. Excavations at Troy. — Dr. Schliemann began his excava- 
tion at a little village in " Troy-land," three miles from the 
shore, where vague tradition placed the scene of the Iliad. 
The explorations continued more than twenty years and dis- 
closed the remains of nine distinct towns, one above another. 

The oldest, some fifty feet below the present surface, was a 
rude village, whose inhabitants knew only stone implements. 
The second showed powerful walls with a strong citadel whi(;h 
had been destroyed by lire. Its civilization was marked by 
bronze weapons and gold ornaments. Dr. Schliemann thought 
this city was Homer's Troy. But we know now that it passed 
away more than a thousand years before Homer's time, and no 
doubt the very memory of its civilization had perished before 
the real Troy was built. Above it, came the remains of three 
inferior settlements, and then — the sixth layer from the bottom 
— a much larger and finer city, which had perished in confla- 
gration some twelve hundred years before Christ. Extensive 
explorations conducted after Schliemann's death made it clear 
that this sixth city corresponded strikingly to the descriptions 
contained in the Iliad. There is therefore no reason to doubt 
its identity with Homeric Troy. 

Above this Homeric Troy came an old Greek city, a magnificent city of 
the time of Alexander the Great, a Roman city, and, finally, the squalid 
Turkish village of to-day. 

91. Excavations at Mycenae. — Homer places the capital of 
Agamemnon, leader of all the Greeks, in Argolis at " Mycenae, 
rich in gold." Here, in 1876, Schliemann uncovered the 
remains of an ancient city, with peculiar, massive (" Cyclo- 
pean ") walls. Within, were found a curious group of tombs, 
where lay in state the embalmed bodies of ancient kings, — 

"in the splendor of their crowns and breastplates of embossed plate of 
gold ; their swords studded with golden imagery ; their faces covered 
strangely in golden masks. The very floor of one tomb was thick with 
gold dust — the heavy gilding from some perished kingly vestment. In 
another was a downfall of golden leaves and flowers. And amid this pro- 



108 



PREHISTORIC HELLAS 



[§92 



fusion of fine fragments were rings, bracelets, smaller crowns, as for 
children, dainty butterflies for ornaments, and [a wonderful] golden flower 
on a silver stalk." 

One tomb, with three female bodies, contained 870 gold 
objects, besides multitudes of very small ornaments and count- 
less gold beads. In another, live bodies were " literally smoth- 
ered in jewels." And, with these ornaments, there were skill- 
fully and curiously wrought weapons for the dead, with whet- 
stones to keep them keen, and graceful vases of marble and 
alabaster, carved with delicate forms, to hold the funeral food 




Bronze Dagger from Mycenae, iulaid with gold 



and wine. Near the entrance lay bodies of slaves or captives 
who had been offered in sacrifice. 

92. These discoveries confirmed much in "Homer." Like 
"Troy," so this ancient ]\Iycenae had perished in fire long 
before Homer's day. But similar cities must have survived, 
in some parts of Hellas, to be visited by the wandering poet. 
From remains of many palaces, it may be seen now that the 
picture of ]Menelaus' palace in the Od/jssey (vii, 84 ff.) was 
drawn from life, — the friezes of glittering blue glass, the 
walls flashing with bronze and gleaming with plated gold, the 
heroes and their guests feasting through the night, from gold 
vessels, in halls lighted by torches held on massive golden 
statues. 

93. Excavations in Crete. — Schliemann's discoveries amazed 
and aroused the world. Scores of scholars have followed him, 
exploring the coasts of the Aegean at many points. The most 
wonderful discoveries of all have been made in Crete, — mainly 
since the year 1900. Old legends of the Greeks represented 
that island as one source of their civilization and as the home 



93] 



EXCAVATIONS IN CRETE 



109 



of powerful kings before Greek history began. These legends 
used to be regarded as fables; but we know now that they 
were based upon true tradition. At Knossos, a palace of 




The Gate of the Lions at Mycenae. 

The huge stone at the top of the gate, supporting the lions, is 15 feet long and 
7 feet thick. Enemies could reach the gate only by passing between long 
stone walls — from behind which archers could shoot down upon them. 

^' King Minos^' has been unearthed, spreading over more than 
four acres of ground, with splendid throne rooms, and with 
halls and corridors, living rooms, and store rooms. In these 



no 



PREHISTORIC HELLAS 



[§93 



last, there were found multitudes of small clay tablets covered 
with writing, — apparently memoranda of the receipt of taxes. 
No one can yet read this ancient Cretan writing ; but the sculp- 
tures and friezes on the walls, the paintings on vases, and the 
gold designs inlaid on sword blades teach us much about this 
forgotten civilization. Especially amazing are the admirable 



^ W^i^^ . ^^IliihiMllllBMUlii ^ 


i»^ 








^■K; 

^^^^^^^^H 


■HKp^:: J 


^^^K fi ' 


pW^MBBCP'^ lii.JP '^ 


HP 


r 


■ 



MuL Til OF Palace Sewer at Knossos, Avitli terracotta Uraiu pipes, 
showiug method of joining pipes. From Baikie. 



bath rooms of the palace, with a drainage system which has 
been described as " superior to anything of the kind in Europe 
until the nineteenth century." The pipes could be flushed 
properly, and a man-trap permitted proper inspection and re- 
pair. Back of the Queen's apartments, stood a smaller room 
with a baby's bath. Like Troy and Mycenae, the remains show 
that Knossos was burned and ravaged — about 1500 b.c. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE FIRST CIVILIZATION OF HELLAS 

94. Antiquity of "Cretan Culture." — Kor a long time the 
civilization of Greece was not known to have existed before 




Head of a Bull, from a Knossos relief. 

800 or about 1000 b.c. at the most. That people more or less 
civilized were living in the Greek lands and islands when the 
pyramids rose in Egypt was vaguely believed by many and 
doubted or denied by others. Yet it remained a riddle to all 
how the Greeks could have suddenly appeared on the scene 
with a civilization which was not only a full-grown but also a 
very peculiar one, vastly different from that of the East. 

The discoveries of Dr. Schliemann and his later successors, 
however, have brought to light the fact that the coasts of the 
Aegean Sea were alive with human activity for a long period 

111 



112 PREHISTORIC HELLAS [§94 

before the Trojan war. There was some kind of civilization in 
these regions nearly as early as in Egypt and Babylonia. Our 
sole source for this knowledge are relics. So far it has not been 
possible to decipher any of the inscriptions belonging to that 
remote age. Much has been learned from the condition of the 
ruins, the cause of their destruction, and the evident attempts, 
successful or unsuccessful, at rebuilding tnem. The many 
pictorial representations of human life also contributed a con- 
siderable share. 




" Vaphio Cups " : 3i iuches high ; 8 ounces each. Found at Vaphio, iu the 
Peloponnesus, in 1889 a.d., and dating hack at least to 18(X) or 2000 b.c. 
Prohahly Cretan in origin. Very delicate and yet vigorous goldsmith 
work. See the scroll on the page opposite. 

For some time historians called this civilization Mycenean, a 
name still applied occasionally to the last period of it. It 
was also styled Minoan, from Minos, the great Cretan lawgiver. 
But it seems better simply to use the name of Cretan civiliza- 
tion for the whole period preceding the Homeric age. In the 
island of Crete it evidently reached its highest perfection. 
This island, stretching as it does its extended body across the 
mouth of the Aegean Sea, and yet not too far distant from the 
coasts of Egypt and Syria, served as a stepi)ing stone from 
these countries to Greece and Europe. In fact, many of its 
first inhabitants seem to have coma from Phoenicia and 



95] 



CRETAN CIVILIZATION 



113 




114 



PREHISTORIC HELLAS 



[§95 



Egypt.i The Cretan civilization, however, extended over the 
entire coast of the Aegean Sea and in patches from Cyprus 
in the East as far west as Sardinia and even Spain. 

95. Origin and Nature. — It is of course impossible to say 
how much of the achievements of pre-diluvian civilization the 
first comers brought with them to the coasts and islands of 
the Aegean Sea. There seems to have been a period, about 
4000 or 3500 li.c, when their settlements, like the lower- 
most of the "towns" discovered by Schliemann on the site 
of ancient Troy, consisted of plain round 
huts and their implements were made of 
stone. Yet they were by no means without 
refinement. The ornamentation of their 
hand-made pottery — they did not know the 
potter's wheel — shows skill and love of 
beauty. The better sort of knives and arrow- 
heads was made from a peculiar dark and 
hard stone which is found in any consider- 
able (piantity in the island of INIelos only ; 
this seems to indicate that no little trade 
was going on along these coasts, which in all 
likelihood was not confined to stone. As 
we have seen, Schliemann's second city, a 
very early settlement, contains bronze relics. 
When and whence this metal and the art 
of Avorking it Avas acquired is a matter of 
conjecture. But the connection of Phoenicia 
Avith Crete and the Aegean Sea A\^as very 
lively during those early times (see § 54). 
Finds in Egyptian ruins of a very ancient date and Egyptian 
relics unearthed in Crete shoAv that there must have been 
at times at least a rather brisk intercourse between Crete 
and Egypt as Avell. As a consequence Egyptian and Eastern 

1 The bulk of the population of historic Greece was of a different stock. 
They belonged to the Japhetites or Aryans, and had probably come by two 
ways, Asia Minor and Europe. 




Vase from Knossos 
(about L'LW B.C.), 
with eharacteristie 
sea-life ornament. 
From Baikie. 



961 



CRETAN CIVILIZATION 



115 



0i 



®rCp 




arts luid inventions and every kind of progress found their 
way to Crete and further to the Aegean territory and 
Europe. 

But these achievements were not admitted or coi)ied 
slavishly. They were rather adapted and improved upon 
than simply adoi)ted. Cretan civilization on the island and 
in its whole sphere of influence took an entirely individual 
course. The nature of the habitations, the character of the 
people and their different ideals and ideas worked out a kind 
of culture which was not found elsewhere. We may call it 
the beginning of European civilization. 

96. The Best Stages. — At all events, by 2500 n.c, Crete had 
advanced far in the l)ronze age of culture ; and for the next tliou- 
sand years her civilization 
(in material things, at 
least) was quite ecj^ual to 
that of Kgypt. The old 
hand-made pottery gave 
way to admirable work 
on the potter's wheel ; 
and the vase paintings, 
of birds and beasts and 
plant and sea life, are 
vastly more lifelike and 
graceful than any that 
Egyptian art can show. 
The walls of houses were 
decorated with a delicate 
" egg-shell " porcelain in 
artistic designs. Gold 
inlay work, for the deco- 
ration of weapons, had 
reached great perfection. 

A system of syllabic writing had been developed, seemingly more 
advanced than the Egyptian. Unhappily scholars have not yet 
found a key to it ; but some believe that it may have been the 



II 



k. 



u^-f?-,''" 






Cretan Writing. (Plainly, some of these 
characters are numerals. Others have a 
strong likeness to certain Greek letters, 
esi)ecially in the oldest Greek writing.) 



It) 



rKKlllSTOKir 11 ELLAS 



(§96 



coimuoii ancestor of the riioenieiau ami the (Jreek alphabets.^ 
The palaee at Knossos (Jj \y[) was built about 'JliOO u.e., and re- 
built and iniproviHl about KSlH). Its uuuiarcli must have ruh>d 
all the island, and pri>hably i^as the (J reek legenils taught) over 
wiile regions of the sea. Tlu' eitv had no walls to shut out an 
eneuiv : Crete relied upon luu- sea jiower to ward i>t"t' invaders. 
\\ i> niav think of tlu' Cretan lawgiver, Minos, seated on his 
thn>ne at Knossos, ruling ovc>r tlu' surrounding seas, at about 

the tinu' Abraham left Ir 
to found the Hebn'w raee, 
or a littK' beb>re the law- 
giver, Hammurabi, estal>- 
HsIuhI the (>ld l>abvhmian 
I'mjtire, ov as a eontem- 
porary of souu' of the be- 
netieent pharaohs of the 
Middle i\ingdom in Kgvpt. 
T/w li/c at court is por- 
trayed to us in the 
fresi'oes of tlu' palaee 
walls. Souu'tiuu>s tlu> de- 
pendants of [\\c prinee 
march into the royal eastle 
in stately procession to 
otTiu- their gifts anil, per- 
haps, pay tribute to their 
master. Souu'times the 
court is tilled with gayly 
dressed courtiers and 
lailies. The niU>les wear 
their hair in three hmg 
curls. The wouu'u were 
not banished from society life as in latiu- (i recce, but uun-ed 
freely in the company of men as in nu'iliainal and modern 

* One i>Ui Kiuuan writor (l>iodi>nis Sionlus) has prestMVoil tho intoreslini: 
fact that tho Cretans thoiuselvos in his ilay ohiiiueil to have boon tho inventors 




So-ealUui Thui>nk i>f Miniks in thi i'...,.v> 
at Kn»>ssos. Says Baikie (^\'(J Kiin/s of 
Crttt\ 12) : "No niore ancient throne ex- 
ists in Europe. t>r pri>bably in the world. " 
Compare its associations witli tliose of 
the tlirtMie of (.^liarU-niaune. {V. Cv'A.) 



§ Oti] 



CRETAN CIVILIZATION 



117 



times. Those lords and Indies appear sitting, standing, ges- 
tieulating in animated eonversation. Occasionally the court is 
represented on a balcony or large veranda intently watching 
some game or pert'ormaneiN })erhaps a bull light or the taming 




(\)<)KiN(i U iKNsii,s, 1(1111111 ill one tomb at Kiiossos. 

and training of wild bulls. Tlu' bull was a favorite subject of 
Cretan art. See the illustrations in tlu'se i)ages.i 

The chief article of the men's dress was a linen cloth hang- 
ing from the waist or fashioned into short trousers, like the 
dress of the men seen on the Egyptian nu)numents. To this 
the nobles sometimes, when not in war or hunting, added a 



of the alphabet. He says: " Some pretend that the Syrians were the inven- 
tors of letters, and that the Phoenit-ians learned from them and bronyht the 
art of writing; to Greece. . . . But the Cretans say that the tirst invention 
eame from Crete, and that the Phoeiiieians only changed the form of the let- 
ters and made the knowledge of them more general anu)ng the peoples." 
Modern Cretans had forgotten this claim for many centuries, but recent dis- 
coveries go far to prove it true. 

1 Compare also the later story of the Athenian hero Theseus and the 
Cretan Minotaur (bull) in any collection of Greek legends, as in Hawthorne's 
Tanf/h'wood Tales. 



lis 



rUEHlSTOHlC HELLAS 



§97 



short sleeveless mantle, fastened over one shoulder with a 
jewelled pin : their l>elt, drawn tight alxnit the waist, always 
carried a dagger, inlaid with gold tigures. The women's dress 
was very elaborate, with tine sewing and exquisite embroidery. 
It resembled muoh more the female dress of modern davs than 
did that of the women of later Greeee and Rome. The skirts 

were Ivll-shaped, like the 



^"™^^i^|] mi 11 umimiiiaL'*^*^ 




fashion of some tifty years 
ago. and tioimoed with 
ruttlos. Men and women 
alike wore gold bracelets, 
and the women added long 
coils of Waded necklaces. 
Each home wove its own 
cloth, as we learn from 
the loom-weights in every 
house. Eiich home, to^^, 
had its stone mortars for 
grinding the daily supply 
of meal. Kitchen utensils 
were varit\l and numerous. 
They include perforated 
skimmers and strainers, 
and charccxil carriers, and 
in a u y o t h e r d c v ices 
strangely mcxiern in shape. 
Most cooking was done 
over an open tire of sticks 
— though sometimes there 
was a sort of recess in a heartli. over which a kettle sto^xi. 
AN hen the destroying foe came upon Kuossos, one carpenter 
left his kit of tools hidden under a stone slab : and among 
these \ve tind •' saws, hammers, adze, chisels heavy and light, 
awls, nails, tiles, and axes." They are of bronze, of course, but 
in shape they are so like our own that it seems prolwble that 
this handicraft passed down its skill without a break from the 



Ckktan Vask oi later ptrioil. slunviusx a 
tendeuoy to use " conveittioualizeil "orna- 
ment. Critics believe that such vases in- 
dieate a jx^riod of dtvav in Cretan art. 



§971 CRETAN CIVILIZATION 119 

earliest European eivilizatiou to the present. One huge eross- 
cut saw, like our lunibernuurs, was found in a mountain town, 
— used probably to eut the great trees there into eolunms for 
the palaees. 

97. The dark side of this splendid civilization has to do with 
its government and the organization of soeiety. Here, Oriental 
features prevailed. The monarch was absolute ; and a few 
nobles were the only others who found life easy and pleasant. 
The masses were far more abject and helpless than in later 
Greek history. The direct cause of the destruction of Cretiin 
culture was a series of barbarian invasions ; but the remains 
show that the best stiiges of art had already passed away. 
Probably the invasions were so completely successful only be- 
cause of internal decay, such as usually comes to despotic states 
after a period of magnilicence. Some excavators think they 
find evidence that the invaders were assisted by an uprising of 
the oppressed masses. In any event, fortunately, many of the 
better features of this early Aegean civilization were adopted 
by the conquerors and preserved for time to come. 

For FiRTHKR REvniNc. — SpcciaUy sugcjested : Davis' lieadinijs, 
Vol. I, No. 32, gives an interesting extract from an account of Cretan 
remains by one of the discoverers. Bury's Hi story of Greece, 7-11, on 
Cretan culture ; II-08, on remains near Mycenae (half these pages are 
given to illustrations) ; 65-69, on the Homeric poems. The student may 
best omit or disregard Professor Bury's frequent discussions as to whether 
Cretans or Trojans were -'Greeks." The important thing about each 
new wave of invasion is not its race, but its kind of culture, and where 
that culture came from. 

Additional, for students who wish wider reading: Hawes, Crete the 
Fore-runmr of G-reece : or Baikie. >'«'a Kimjs of Crete. (Appendix.) 



CHAPTEU X 

THE HOMERIC AGE 

ORIGIN 

98. The Achaeans. — l^etween 1500 ami 1200 b.c. a great 
change took place in Greece. The civilization pictured by 
Homer differs greatly from the earlier one. It was not a 
dovclopment from the earlier: it was a separate culture, from a 
different source. The Mycenaeans and Cretans buried their 
dead, worshiped ancestors, used no iron, and lived frugally, 
mainly on fish and vegetable diet. Homer's Greeks burn their 
dead, adore a sun god, use iron swords, and feast all night 
mightily on whole roast oxen. So, too, in dress, manners, and 
personal api)earance, as far as we can tell, the two are widely 
different. The early Greeks, as their pictures show, were 
short, dark, black-eyed, like the modern Greeks and like all 
the other aborigines of southern Europe. But Homer de- 
scribes his Greeks, or at least his chieftains, as tall, fair, 
yellow-haired, and blue-eyed. In many ways, too, their civi- 
lization was ruder and more primitive than the one it replaced. 

This second civilization of Hellas is ciiWed Achaean, — the 
name which '^ Homer '^ gives to the Greeks of his time. These 
Achaeans were jmrt of a vigorous race dwelling in central 
Europe. They were semibarbarians in that home ; but in some 
ivai/ they had lear)ied the use of iron. About 1500 u.o., bands 
of these fair-haired, blue-eyed, ox-eating warriors, drawn by 
the splendor and riches of the south, broke into Hellas, as 
barbarians of the north so many times since have l)roken into 
southern Europe. These mighty-limbed strangers, armed Avith 
long iron swords, established themselves among the short, 

120 



§99] ACHAEAN CONQUESTS 121 

dark, bronze-weaponed natives, dwelt in their cities, became 
their chiefs, married their women, and possessed the land. 

99. Nature of their Invasion. — The occupation of the land by 
the invaders was a slow process, involvini,^ unrecorded misery, 
generation after generation, for the gentler, peace-loving na- 
tives. An Egyptian inscription of the period declares that 
" the islands were restless and disturbed," — and indeed the 
Achaean rovers reached even Egypt in their raids (§ 31). 
During most of the period, the newcomers merely filtered into 
Hellas, band by band, seizing a little island, or a valley, at a 
time. Occasionally, larger forces warred long and desi)erately 
about some stronghold. Knossos, without defensive walls, fell 
early before a fleet of sea-rovers. But in walled cities, like 
Troy and Mycenae, the old civilization lived on for three cen- 
turies. Much of the time, no doubt, there was peace and 
intercourse between the Achaeans and such cities ; but finally 
the invaders mustered in forc^e enough to master even these. 
Homer's ten-year Trojan War may be based upon one of these 
closing struggles. 

The fair-haired Achaeans imposed their language upon the 
older natives (as conipierors commonly do) ; but, in course of 
time, their blood was absorbed into that of the more numerous 
conquered people — as has happened to all northern invaders 
into southern lands, before and since. The physical character- 
istics of Homer's Achaeans left no more trace in the later 
Greeks, than the tall, yellow-haired Goths who conquered 
Spain and Italy in the fifth century after Christ have left in 
those countries. 

The Achaean and Cretan cultures blended more equally than the 
two races did, — though not till the splendor and most of the art 
of the older civilization had been destroyed. The change of 
language explains in part the loss of the art of writing, — 
which probably had been the possession of only a small class 
of scribes, in any case. But the common people, we may be 
sure, clung tenaciously to their old customs and habits of life, 
and especially to their religion. When next we see the Greek 



122 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§100 

civilization clearly, the old worship of ancestors, of which 
the Homeric poems contain no mention, had reappeared and 
mingled with the newer worship of the Achaean gods. 
Some features of the Achaean age are described below. 

THE TRIBAL ORGANIZATION 

100. The Clan. — In early times the smallest nnit in Greek 
society was not a family like ours, but a clan (or gens). Each 
clan was a group of kindred, an enlarged Kind of family. Some 
clans contained perhaps a score of members ; others contained 
many score. 

The nearest descendant of the forefather of the clan, count- 
ing from oldest son to oldest son, was the clan elder, or " king." 
Kinship and ivorshij) were the two ties which held a clan to- 
gether. These two bonds were really one, for the clan religion 
teas a icorshij) of clan ancestors. If provided with pleasing meals 
at proper times and invoked with magic formulas (so the belief 
ran), the ghosts of the ancient clan elders would continue to 
aid their children. The food was actually meant for the ghost. 
Milk and wine were poured into a hollow in the ground, while 
the clan elder spoke sacred formulas inviting the dead to eat.^ 

This worship was seo-et. The clan tomb was the altar, and 
the clan elder was the only lawful priest. For a stranger even 
to see the worship was to defile it ; for him to learn the sacred 
formulas of the clan worship was to secure power over the gods.^ 
It followed that mari^icfge became a '' religious " act. The woman 
renounced her own gods, and was accepted by her husband's 
gods into their clan. Her father, of course, or some male rela- 



1 Travelers describe similar practices among primitive peoples to-day. A 
Papuan chief prays: "Compassionate Father! Here is food for you. Eat 
it, and be kind to us! " 

2 Primitive races think of words as in some strange way related to the 
things they stand for (as the spirit to the body). This is one reason for belief 
in "charms." Those who knew the right words could " charm " the gods to 
do their will. The Romans, in the days of their power, always kept the real 
name of their chief god a secret, lest some foe might compel or induce him 
to surrender the city. 



§103] THE TRIBAL CITY 123 

tive, renounced for her, and gave her to the bridegroom by 
whose gods she was now protected. After that, she and her 
future chiklren were in Uiw and in religion no longer " re- 
lated" to her father and his clan. Legal relationship, and 
inheritance of property, came through males only. 

101. Later Family Worship. — In hke manner in later times, as the 
families of the clan became distinct units, each came to have its sepa- 
rate family worship. The Hearth was the family altar. Near it were 
grouped usually images of the household gods who watched over the 
family. The father was the priest. Before each meal, he poured out on 
the Hearth the libation, or food-offering, to the family gods and asked 
their blessing. The family tomb was near the house, '• so that the sons," 
says Euripides (a later Greek poet; § 221), ''in entering and leaving 
their dwelling, might always meet their fathers and invoke them.'' 

102. The Tribe. — Long before history began, clans united 
into larger units. In barbarous society the highest unit is the 
tribe, which is a group of clans living near together and believ- 
ing in a common ancentor. In Greece the clan elder of the 
leading clan was the Ving of the tribe cvid its jrr test. 

103. The Tribal City. — Originally a tribe dwelt in several 
clan villages in the valleys around some cxmvenient hill. On 
the hilltop was the place of common worship. A ring wall, at 
a convenient ])art of the slope, easily turned this sacred place 
into a citadel. In hilly Greece many of these citadels grew up 
7}ear together; and so, very early, groups of tribes combined 
further. Perhaps one of a group would conquer the others and 
compel them to tear down their separate citadels and to move 
their temples to its center. This made a city. The chief of 
the leading tribe then became the priest-king of the city. 

Sometimes, of course, a tribe grew into the city stage with- 
out absorbing other tribes ; but, in general, as clans federated 
into tribes, so tribes federated into cities, either peaceably or 
through war. The later Athenians had a tradition that in very 
early times the hero Theseus founded their city by bringing 
together four tribes living in Attica. 



124 IIOMKK'S (JKKM(M^: THK A(MIAKANS |§ll)l 

104. The City the Political Unit. — If the cities could have combined 
into larger units, Greece might have become a '^ nation-state," like modern 
England or France. But the Greeks, in the time of their glory, never 
got beyond a city-state. To them the same word meant " city " and 
"state." A union of cities, by which any of them gave up its complete 
independence, was repugnant to Greek feeling. One city might hold 
other cities in subjection ; but it never admitted their people to any hind of 
citizenship.^ Nor did the subject cities dream of asking such a thing. 
What they wanted, and would never cease to strive for, was to recover 
their separate independence. To each Greek, his city was his country. 

It followed, through nearly all Greek history, that the political- rela- 
tions of one city with another five miles away were foreign relations, 
as much as its dealings with the king of Persia. Wars, therefore, were 
constant and cruel. Greek life was concentrated in small centers. This made 
it vivid and intense ; but the division of Greek resources between so many hostile 
centers made that life brief. 

(JOVKKNMKNT OK TlIK KAKLY (MTY-STATK 

105. The King. — 'V]w city had lliroo political (diMueiits — 
kill";-, coiiiu'il ol" cliit'ls, ami popular assoiuhly. In those wo 
iiKiy soo tlu' >;tMins of hit or luoiiarchic, aristocratic, aiul (h'lno- 
cratic ij^ovoriiiiuMits. [Vov tlicsc ttM'ins, sec § Sr>, note.) 

The kin;;" was /((iilcr in ii-((r, Ji((h((' in /x'ttcc, and priest at all 
times. His |)owt'r was much limited by custom and by tho 
two other j)olitical orders. 

106. A council of chiefs aidtnl the kinj^, — and cheeked him. 
'rhes(> child's wiM't^ (U-is^iually the (dan elders and the members 
of tlu^ royal family. Si>fi((//t/ \\\e\ wer(>tlie kind's (Mpials; and 
in (jorcDiniciif he could not do anythiui^ in (hdiance of their 
wish. If a ruler died without a i::rown-np son, tlie council 
could (dect a kiii>;-, altlu)U!;h they idiose usually from the royal 
family. 

1 Can tho student see a oonnoction botweou this fact aiul tho " exclusive " 
character of clan and tribal and city-worship, as described above ? 

-"Political" lueans " rclatini; to ji-overniucnt." The word must bo used 
frociuontly in history. In other relations, as in trade and reliuion and cul- 
ture, tho Greek cities diii not think of one another as fori'i^ners, to any sneii 
degree as in political matters. 



§ los] (j!()VKKNM)^:nt 125 

107. The Assembly. — The, ('oiiniioii I'vooiuow caiiK; i()<,n',t,li('r 
for worship and for j^^aincs ; and soiik^I iiiics l.li<; kiii^" called 
tlieiii U>\i;vi\\i'.v, U> lisUui lo plans thai, liad Imhmi adoplc^l by jiini 
and th(! c-liicds. 'I'Ikmi t 1h^ fi-(?ein(!ii shouted a|)[)r()val or iriuttored 
disapproval. Th(!y could not start ih;\v uiovemcnits. 'I'herc; 
were no rc^gular iiie(^tings and few s[)ok(^sui(!n, and tlu; ^-eneral 
reverence for the chief's made it a daring deed foi' ;i, eonnnon 
man to brave them. If th(; chi(ds and kin^' a^n-e(}d, it was <!asy 
for tlie-m to ^'ct tluur wii.y with th(^ Assend)ly. 

How(;v(M-, (^ven in war, wIkmi the authority of llu- noltles was 
greatest, tin; Ass(unl)ly had to b(^ jiarsuddad : it roald not he. 
ordcn'd. Homer shows that sometimes a common man ven- 
tui-ed to opj)os(! the- "kind's." 

'rims, in on(! Asst'inbly bcl'oic 'l'r<:y, tlio (Jr(!(;ks l)n!ak uway to sci/o 
tluiir Kliii)S and return liorru;. Odysseus InuTies amonf^ tli(;ni, and by \n\r- 
Kuasion and threats forces tinjin back to th(; AsH(Mnl)ly, until only 'rii(M'Kit(!H 
bawls on, — "Thersites, uiKtontrolled of speech, wIios(! mind was full of 
words vj/icrcunth to strhw a(j(t,inst the, rliicf.H. Ilalc^ful was In; to Aehilles 
above all, and to ()dyss(;us,/or them he, vms wont to revile. Hut now with 
ahrilt shout lie poured forth his upl/r(tidin,(js even upon {/ood/y Afjdinem- 
wo//,." Odysseus, it is tiui;, n',buk(!S liim sU^rnly and smiUiS him into 
silence, whih; the crowd laughs. " IIom(!r " saiJ^ to please tlie chieftains, 
his patrons, — and so he nipresents Thersites as a crippk;, u^ly and lui- 
popular ; but there must have; been such popular opposition to the chiefs, 
now and then, or the minstrel would not liave mentioned sucli an incid(;nt 
at all. Says a modern scholar, — A chieftain who had been thwartecl, 
perha[)S, by some real Thersit(!S durinj^ the (hiy, " would ov(!r ids (ivenin^ 
cui)S enjoy the poet's travesty, and lon^ for th(! j^ood old times when 
[Odyss(!Us] (;ould put down imp(!rtinent criticism by the stroke of 
his knotty scepter." i 

SOCIf/rV AND INDTSTKY 

108. Society was simple. 'I'he IfonKuic poems attribute 
wealth and luxury to a few places (where probably sonu; frag- 
nuiuts of the (Cretan civilization survived); but th(!se are 



' Davis' RcadinffH, Vol. I, No. .Ti, reproducffs the }»«st Homeric accoiuit of 
an " Assembly " in war time, it contains also the 'MiersH(!H story vuu\\)U'Xv,. 



126 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§109 

plainly exceptions to the general rule. AVlien the son of 
Odysseus leaves his native Ithaca and visits Menelaus, he is 
astounded by the splendor of the palace, with its "gleam as of 
sun and moon," and whispers to his companion : — 

" Mark the flashing of bronze through the echoing halls, and the flashing 
of gold and of amber and of silver and of ivory. Such like, niethinks, 
is the court of Olympian Zeus. . . . Wonder comes over me as I look." i 

Hut mighty Odysseus had built his palace with his own 
hands. It has been well called — from the poet's description 
— '^ a rude farmhouse, where swine wallow in the court." And 
the one petty island in which Odysseus was head-king held 
scores of yet poorer '' kings." So, too, when Odysseus is ship- 
wrecked on an im})ortant island, he tinds the danghter of the 
chief king — the i)rincess Nausicaa — doing a washing, with 
her band of maidens (treading out the dirt by trampling the 
clothes with their bare feet in the water of a running brook). 
Just before, the " (pieen " was j)ictured, busy in gathering to- 
gether the palace linen for this event. Such descriptions are 
the ti/pical ones in the poems. 

109. Manners were harsh. In the Trojan War, the Greeks 
left the bodies of the slain enemy unburied, to be half devoured 
by packs of savage dogs that hung about the camp for such 
morsels. The common boast was to have given a foe's body to 
the dogs.''^ When the noble Trojan hero. Hector, falls, the 
Greek kings gather about the dead body, " a7id no one came who 
did not add his wound.''^ The chiefs fought in bronze and iron 
armor, usually in chariots. The common free men followed on 
foot, without armor or effective weapons, and seem to have 
counted for little in war. Ordinary prisoners became slaves as 
a matter of course. But when the chiefs were taken, they were 

1 Read the story in the Odyssey, or iu Vol. I, No. 37, of Davis' Readings. 

2 The Iliad opens with the story of a pestilence, which almost drove the 
Greeks from Troy. The poet ascribes it to the anger of the Sun-god, Apollo, 
who shot his arrows upon the camp. Little wonder that the sun's rays, in a 
warm dinuite, should produce pestilence, under such conditions! 



§110] MANNERS AND INDUSTRIES 127 

murdered in cold blood, unless they could tempt the victor to 
spare them for ransom. Female captives, even princesses, ex- 
pected no better fate than slaveiy. 

On the other liand, there are hints of natural and happy 
family life, of joyous festivals, and games and dances, and of 
wholesome, content(.'d work.^ 

110. Occupations. — Tlw, mdss of the])eo])h were small farmers, 
tliou<.;Ii their houses were grouped in villages.''^ Even tlie kings 
tilled their farms, in part at least, with their own hands. 
Odysseus can drive the oxen at the ])low and "cut a chnin fur- 
row " ; and when tlie long days begin he can mow all day Avith 
the crooked scythe, "j)ushiiig cleai- until late eventide." 
Slaves were few, except about the great chiefs. Tliere they 
served as liousehold servants and as farm hands ; and they 
seem to have been treated kindly.'' There had apj)eared, how- 
ever, a class of miserable landless freemen,, who hired them- 
selves to farmers. When the ghost of A(;hilles (the invincible 
Greek chieftain) wishes to name to Odysseus the most unhappy 
lot among mortals, he selects that of the hired servant (§ 112). 

Artisans and smiths were found among the retainers of the 
great chiefs. They were highly honored, but their skill was 
far inferior to that of the Cretan age. Some shields and 
inlaid weapons, always spoken of as the work of Hephaestus, 
the god of fire and of metal work, may have passcMl into the 
hands of the Achaeans from that earlier period. 

A separate class of traders had not arisen. The chiefs, in the 
intervals of farm labor, turned to trading voyages now and 
then, and did not hesitate to increase their profits by piracy. 
It was no offense to ask a stranger whether he came as a pirate 
or for peaceful trade. (Odyssey, iii, 60-70.) 



1 Davis' Rcddinrjs, Vol. I, No. ;i.5. 

2 For farm life, seo an extrartt in Davis' Rrailinr/s, Vol. I, No. 30. 

8 WIkmi Odysseus rt'Auriutd from liis twenty years of war and wandering, 
he mad(! himself known first to a faitiiful swineh(!rd and oiu; other servant — 
both slaves; and '* Tiiey tlirew tlieir arms round wis(; Odysseus and passion- 
ately kissed his face and neck. So likewise did Odysseus kiss their heads and 
hands." 



128 HOMER'S GREECE — THE ACHAEANS [§111 

111. Religious Ideas. — It has been said above that the 
Achaeaiis worshiped tlie forces of nature as gods. Their 
lively faney jiersonified these in the forms and characters of 
men and women — built in a somewhat more majestic mohl 
than human men. The great gods lived on cloud-capped 
Mount Olympus, and passed their days in feasting and laugh- 
ter and other pleasures. When the chief god, Zeus, slept, 
things sometimes went awry, for the other gods plotted against 
his plans. His wife Hera was exceedingly jealous — for which 
she had much reason — and the two had many a family 
wrangle. Some of the gods went down to aid their favorites 
in war, and luiglit even be wounded by human weapons. 

The twelve great Olympian deities were as follows (the Latin names 
are given in parentheses) : — 

Zens (Jupiter), the supreme god; god of the sky; "father of gods 
and men.'' 

Posehkm (Neptune), god of the sea. 

Apollo, the sun god ; god of wisdom, poetry, prophecy, and medicine. 

Ares (Mars), god of war. 

Hephaestus (Vulcan), god of fire — the lame smith. 

Hermes (Mercury), god of the wind; messenger ; god of cunning, of 
thieves, and of merchants. 

Hera (Juno), sister and wife of Zeus; (jueen of the sky. 

Athene (Minerva), goddess of wisdom; female counterpart of Apollo. 

Artemis (Diana), goddess of the moon, of maidens, and of hunting. 

Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love and beauty. 

Demeter (Ceres), the earth goddess — controlling fertility. 

Hestia (Vesta), the deity of the home ; goddess of the hearth fire. 

The (rreeks thought also of all the world about them as 
peopled by a multitude of lesser local gods and demigods — 
spirits of spring and wood and river and hill — all of whom 
they personified in their way as youths or maidens. It was 
surely better to give the gods human forms, than the revolting 
bodies of beasts and reptiles (§ 24), though both are in sad con- 
trast to the original idea of the one true God " Who made 
heaven and earth." In a multitude of legends the Greek 
poets gave to these gods a certain charm, which has made 



§ 112] RELIGION AND MORALS 129 

their stories a lasting jDossession of the world's culture/ — 
and which indeed kept this worship alive among the later 
Greeks long after the primitive ideas in that worship were 
really outgrown. Sometimes we find expressed noble religious 
sentiments. In the OdysseT/ the poet exclaims : " Verily, the 
blessed gods love not fro ward deeds, but they reverence justice 
and the righteous acts of men." All the gods, however, are 
represented as subject to human passion and guilty of low 
vices. Athene and, perhaps, Diana, are the only figures less 
repugnant to Christian ideals. 

112. Ideas of a Future Life. — The Greeks believed in a place 
of terrible punishment (Tartarus) for a few great offenders 
against the gods, and in an Elysium of supreme pleasure for a 
very few others particularly favored by the gods. But for the 
mass of men the future life was to be " a washed-out copy of 
the brilliant life on earth" — its pleasures and pains both 
shadowy. Thus Odysseus tells how he met Achilles in the 
home of the dead : — 

" And he knew me strai^^htway, when he had drvnk the dark blood [of 
a sacrifice to the dead] ; yea, and he wept aloud, and shed big tears as he 
stretched forth his hands in his longing to reach me. But it might not 
be, for he had now no steadfast strength nor power at all in moving, such 
as was aforetime in his supple limbs. . . . But lo, other spirits of the 
dead that be departed stood sorrowing, and each one asked of those that 
were dear to them." — Odyssey, xi, oOO ff. 



For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Beadings, 
Vol. I, Nos. 38-38 (most of these already referred to in footnotes). 
Additional : Bury, pp. f>9-7(). 

iThe legends of heroes and demigods, like Hercules, Theseus, and Jason, 
are retailed for young people charmingly by Hawthorne, Gayley, Guerber, 
and Kingsley. The stories have no historical value that could be made clear 
in a book like this. 



(MIAI"I^I':U' \l 

FROM TllK ACHAKANS TO THt: FKRSIAN WARS 
(1000 ftOO BC.) 

A NKW ACIK 

113. TIic Doriiin Coiuiucst. Tlif Acliac.i.ii (•(Ui(|U('sls closed 
nlxMil rj()(» i;.('. I*'()|- Iwo ('(Mil iii-ics I Icllas \v;is I loiililcd only 
by tiic usual petty wars Ix'lwceu small stales. Hut, alxuit, 
1000 H.c, t.lu' revival ol" eull,ui-e was elieeked a,-;ain lor a. liundicd 
years by \w\\ dest.ruelive invasions Ironi the north. 

'Ph<» new l)a.rbarians called themselves l>(»ri((ns. 'V\\v\ seem 
to have been el(»sely allied in la.u^ua^'e to the Aehacaus; and 
lhe\ weic probably nuM'cly a. rcai" ,<;ua,rd which ha.d slopped 
lor two hundred y(>ars sonu'where in northern Hellas. They 
e()n(pier(Ml because they had adopted a new and better military 
ori^'aiii/aiion. The A(diavans I'oui^ht. still in il(uneric lashion, 
-the ehi(ds in chariots, and their followeis as an unwieldy, 
ill armed mob. The l>orians intioduced the use of hea\y- 
a.rmtMl inlantry, with long spears, in rei^iilar array and (dos(^ 
ranks. 

I>y \H)() n.c., th(> njovements ol" th(> tribes had ceased. Tlu> 
eoiKpuM-ini;- l>oria,ns had S(>ttled down, nmiiihi in the /*t'l(>j>(>n- 
lU'siis. This district, had been the center ol" I h(> Mycenaean 
and AidiatMU L,dory, but. \\ now lost its leadershii) in culture. 
When civilization took a new stait in ihdlas, soon altiM- '.JOO, 
it was I'rom lu^w centers //; A/lii'it (did in Asid Minor. 

114. Phoenician Influence. — VV/c ririli.:<iti(>n ir/iich (lie ArlKtc- 
itns (UkI l)ori<nis Inni dcsfroi/cd at Mi/ccndc and (h-cfc iras 
■n'stoi-fd to (In in in /xtrf hi/ tin' r/i(K'nici(tiis. AI'Um' the overthrow 
ol" CnMaii powtM", Phoenicia lor many centuries was the leading 
soa-power ol' Mio Moditomineaii (ir)00-(>00 u.c). Especially 

\'M) 



§ iir,) DoicjAN (',iu<)K('i<: i:n 

iuiiaw^ Uk; iHl;ui(lH iukJ co.'ihI.h of l,h(! Acij^can, did licr l.radcrM 
IkuIci- with l,li(! iidi;d)it,aid„s (iiiii(di ;i,s lOii^di.sli irad(;rH did l.wo 
liiiiidi'<^d yi'.ai'H :v^<) wilJi A iiwiican I (idiaiis;, l,<'ifi|)l,in}< l,li«;iii 
witJi Htraii^(r war(iH of Hiiiall value, ;iiid coiiMUnf^' it, I)(*kI, }^^'UJl of 
all if Mn*y c.oidd lure c-iirioiiH iiuiidciiH on hojird Micir l)l;u',k 
Hliips lor disl.;uit, sl;i,V(', iii;i,rl<«'l,M. In rdnrii, liowiivcc, tln'V mi;i(Ic. 
iMM-iiy ;i,ii iniinl,<inl,ioii;i,l \t:\.y\i\(',\\\,. liiiii^iia^M! hIiowh iJinl, l-lic, 
I*li<)«'iii(;i;uis jj;:i\/<', l,o llic ili-ccU^ Uwt ii;uih'h (:u\(\ ho, no donhl,, 
Ui«' M.sc; oT linen, niynli, (tinn;uiion, I'liink inecnuc;, ho;i,)), lyn^H, 
eo,sni(;t,i(;s, Jind wril,in^^ l,al)l(;l,H. The roi-f^M)l,l(;n ;irt, of wi'iljn;^' 
they jjd.rodiieed Jij^'aiti, — Uhh l-inn; wiUi a l,rne, ;i,l))li;d><'l,. /inf 
tlui Uvcljl II<'U<m('H 'inert', nol. ahi.vi.Hh, iniUdtnrH. Whaievju- Uie 
Hl,riUi^'erH })ron»^dd, Ihcni, they improved and Jrnide tJieir own. 

115. The Gap in our Knowledjje. 'i'ln' Dori.-ins li;i(l no 
Homer, as tln^ Aehac^ariH Inul, nor did thry jca.ve, ma^niili- 
eent, monume,nt,H, .'i,h tJie M ye,en;u'a,n;i did. Aeeorjjin^dy, ari,er 
lloni<r, t.hent is ;i, hhmk in our kiund<'.<l,ti(' for ncarbj Jive ccn- 
LurivH. (\vi';i\, eh;ui;.(es, howev«'r, t,ool< phiee durin;^' tJiese 
ohse.nn; eent,nries; and in ;l i-on;^di w;i,y we (t;i,n see, what, tJiey 
were, /;// conipa.rl ikj Ihniwrlr. ( irt'vci' inilji llw liiHloric ( irccrc Uuil, 
iH rcvi'.dlcd, inlicii. the c.iu'/ain rincH (Ufdln. 

This " rising' of* t-lnr enrt,ain " 1,ook pl;u;e .-ihoul, i\:\() i',.c. |',y 
l'h;il, time tJie (ij-e«'ks li;ul hej^nin t,o use, the ;ilph;d)et, freely. 
'I'lic next, !/>() ye.'irs, how(;ver, nnu-ely e()nt,inne(j mov(!menl,H 
vvhieli wer(; .d/eady well under w;i,y ; ;i,nd t,h(^ whole fxtriod, 
from the I>oi-i;u) eonfjuest, t,o t-lu; ye,ar .000, ean Ix; t,reat,ed ;i,h a 
unit, (%i I K; 11.;. 

To that half thousand years helonj^ed six j^reat movemftnts. (i) The 
Hellenes awoke to a feelin;', that they were one people as compared with 
other peoples, (z) They extended JIelleni<; culture widely hy coloniza 
tion. (3) The system of K^jvernment everywhere underwent ^reat 
change. (4) Sparta became a great military power, whose leadership 
in war the other Greek states were willing to recognize. (5) Athens 
became a democracy. (6) A great intellectual development appeared, 
manifested in architecture, painting, sculpture, poetry, and philosophy. 

Each of the six imwcincnln will he described briejty. 



i:V2 IIKLLAS FKOM KUH) TO 500 H.(\ [§116 



I. INirV OK FKKLINCI 

116. Greeks came to think of all Hellenes as one race, compariHl 
with otlior i)tH)plcs — in spito of many siibilivisioiis aiuoiig 
MuMns(»lvt\s, Tlu' ///(/(/ (loos not inako it cUsir whotlior Homer 
looki'il ii|)oii tlu' Trojans as (Jri'cks or not. AppariMit ly ho 
oaroil litth' alH)ut tho qnostion. l''ivo hunilrtnl yoars hitor snch 
a (|iiostion wonUl ha\'o boon ^ a. iirst, oonsichM-ation to ovory 
(J rook. Tlio (1 rooks had not. hooonio ono nation: tliat. is, thoy 
had not ottiuo nnilor tlio samo i;'ovornnuMit. Ihit thoy had 
oonio t.o boliovo in a kinshij) with oach otluM-, to taki^ })ri(h* in 
thoir oonnnon civili/at ion, and to sot. tliomsolvt>s apart from 
tlio rost. ol' tho woi-hl. Tho tliroo ohiof l'orot>s wluoli had 
created this onont'ss of tocIinL;- wiMt* /niK/iiai/c, literature, and 
tho (Mfiinpian relUfion, witli its ganios and ora.oh»s. 

a. The (freeks ((iKlerstaod etteJt other's dialeets, wliih' tlio 
mon t)f otlior spotu'll about tluMii tlu>y oallod •• Harbai'ians," or 
babblers {Iii(r'-lH(r-i>i). This likeness i>j'lantjiui(fe nuule it jH)ssihle 
for oil (ireeks to possess the same literature. Tho poiMiis of 
I lonior wort* smiLC and rooit(ul in t>vory villa^'o for cent iirios ; 
and tho nnivorsal priih* in Homer, and in tho i^lorios of the 
later literature, lia.d muoh to do in binding the (i reeks into 
ono people. 

/>. The poets inrented a st/steni of relationship. The first 
inliabitant of Hellas, they said, was a certain Hellen, who had 
three sons, Aeolns, Dorns, and Xntlius. Xnthns became the 
father of Aehaens and Ion. At'olns, Dorns, Aohaeus, and lou 
\ver(> th(» ancestors of all lloUonos, — in the four great divi- 
sions, Aeolians, Dorians, Achaeans, and loniaiis. This st/stem 
of fables math' it easier for the Greeks to heliere themselves con- 
neeteil bij blood. 

e. Throe speoial features of the (Mympiau religion lieli)ed to 
bind (Greeks together, — tho Paiihellenic Games, the Delphic 
Oracle A \n\ tho various Aniphictt/onies {'^i'^i 117, IIS, 110). 

117. The Panhellenic Games. — To the great festivals of some 
of the gods, men Hooked from all Hollas. This was especially 



§117] 



ONKNKSS OF CMJLTIIIUO 



I :\:\ 



true of tlic, Ohim/pir, ^!iiii(;s., TlniHO W(;r(j c(i](;hrated ea(;li fouiUi 
year at Olynipia, in Klis, in honor ol Z(mis. 'JMk; eontc^sts con- 
sisted of foot races, (;liariot rae<is, wresiliii^^ and hoxin;,\ The 
vi(;tors were felt to have won the hi^diest honor o[)en to any 
Greek. Tliey received nntrcily an olive wreatli at Olynipia; 
but at their li(>ni<;s tliey wei-(i lionorcd wilh iiiseiiptions and 





RUINH OF THK ENTItANrK H) TMK STAJJlUIVf {(llldctlc Jlcld) A'l OlVMI'/A. 



statues. All (irc^iiks, and only th(^y, could compete; in l*an- 
hellenic games. There was a strong feeling tliat all the wars 
between Oreek states should be suspended during the festival. 
To these games came merchants, to secure the best maiket 
for rare wares. Heralds proclaimed treaties there — as the best 
way to make them known through all Ilellas. l^oets, orators, 
and artists gathered there; and gradually the intellectual con- 
tests and exhibitions became the most important feature of 
the meeting. The oration or poem or statue which was praised 



134 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO r>00 B.C. [§118 

at Olympia had ihmhmvihI th(> a{)i)ri)v.il of the most intt'lligeiit 
judges that could he brought togvthor auywluuT \u the 
worki. 

These intellectual contests, howovor, did not boconio part of the 
sacred games. Nor was any prize given to the winner. — The four-year 
periods between the Olympic games were called Oli/mpiails. All events 
Avere dated from what was believetl to be the lirst recorded Olympiad, 
beginning in 77(1 n.o. An admirable account of the Olympic Games 
is given in Davis' Iieadimjs, Vol. I, No. 44. Less famons, though 
by no nutans without importance, were the Panhellenic games held at 
other places and at iliiferent intiTvals. 

118. The Delphic Oracle- — Apollo, the sun god, Avas also the 
god of prophecy. Oue of his chief temples was at IVlphi, far 
up the slopes of JNlount rarnassus, amiil wild aud rugged 
scenery. From a tissure in the ground, within the temple, 
volcanic gases poured forth. A priestess would, when desired, 
inhale the gas until she ])assed into a trance (or seemed to do 
so) ; and, while in this state, she was supiH)sed to see into the 
future, by the aid of the god. The ailricc of this "or(<(7c" was 
sought 1)1/ men and bi/ goreDinwnts throughout all Hellas. (See 
further iu Davis' Readiugs, Vol. I, Nos. 41— 4o.) 

119. Amphictyonies. — There was an ancient league of Greek 
tribes to protect the temple at Delphi. This was known as 
the Amphictyouic League (league of "dwellers-round-about"). 
Smaller amphictyonies, for the protection of other temples, 
were common in Greece. In early Greek history, they were 
the only hint of a movement toward a union of states. All 
these leagues, it is true, were strictly religious in purpose, and 
not at all like jiotitical unions. The Delphic Amiductyony, 
however, did in a way represent the whole Greek people. All 
important states sent delegates to its " Goum-il," which held 
regular meetings; and every division of the Greek race felt 
that it had a share in the oracle and in its League. 

120. Dorians and lonians. — At the cost of some digression, this is 
the best place to note that through all later Greek history (after 6ooB.c.) 
the two leading races were the Dorians and the lonians. (See § 1 16 &, above.) 



§1211 EXJ^ANSION AND COLONIZATION 135 

By 600 B.C. the Dorians had their chief strength in the Peloponnesus, 
while the lonians held Attica and most of the islands of the Aegean. 
The lonians seem to have been descendants of the original inhabitants 
of Greece, mixed with tribes of the Achaean invasion. 

Athens was the leading city of the lonians. The Athenians were sea- 
farers and traders ; they preferred a democratic government ; they were 
open to new ideas — '' always seeking some new thing " ; and they were 
interested in art and literature. Sparta was the leading city of the 
Dorians. The Spartans were a military settlement of conquerors, in a 
fertile valley, organized for defense and ruling over slave tillers of the 
soil. They were warriors, not traders; aristocratic, not democratic; 
conservative, not progressive; practical, not artistic. 

Some writers used to exi)lain the difffirencos b(itween Athens and Sparta 
on th(; ground of race, and toaoh that all lonians were naturally demo- 
cratic and prof^ressive, while all Dorians were naturally aristocratic and 
C(mH(;rvative. Hut it lias Vxjen pointed out that Dorian colonies in Italy 
and Sicily Clikc Syracu.sc) r(!Scrnl)lod Athens more than they did Spaita. 
Their physical snrroundiiKjH vmre more like tJione of Athens, also. To-day 
scholars lo(jk with suspicion upon all attempts to explain differences in 
civilization on the f^roimd of inborn r;u;(; tfuidcncics. For Sparta and 
Athens, the (ixplanation certainly is found mainly in the difference in 
physical surround inj^s. 

II. KXI'ANSION BY COLONIZATION 

121. First Period. — While Or<^ok civilization was becoming 
morci united in feeling, it was becoming more scattered in 
space. The old tribes which the Dorians drove out of the 
Peloponnesus jostled other trilx'-s into motion all over Greece, 
and some of the fugitives carried the seeds of Oreek culture 
more widely than before along the coasts of the Aegean. 

This period of colonization lasted about a century, from 
1000 to 900 B.C. Its most important fact was the Ilellenizing 
of the western coast of Asia Minor. Some of this district had 
been Greek before ; l>ut now large reinforcements arrived from 
the main Greek peninsula, and all non-Hellenic tribes were 
subdued or driven out. Large bodies of Ionian refugees from 
the Peloponnesus had sought refuge in Ionian Attica. I^ut 
Attica could not supjjort them all ; and soon they began to 



136 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 122 

cross the sea to Asia Minor. There they established them- 
selves in twelve great cities, of which the most important were 
Miletus and Ephesus. The whole middle district of that coast 
took the name Ionia, and was united in an amphictyony. 

122. Second Period. — A century later, there began a still 
wider colonizing movement, which went on for two hundred 
years (800-600 b.c), doubling the area of Hellas and spread- 
ing it far outside the old Aegean home. The cause this time 
was not war. Greek cities were growing anxious to seize the 
Mediterranean commerce from the Phoenicians. The new colo- 
nies were founded largely for trading stations. 

Thus Miletus sent colony after colony to the north shore of 
the Black Sea, to control the corn trade there. Sixty Greek 
towns fringed that sea and its straits. The one city of Chalcis, 
in Euboea, planted thirty-two colonies on the Thracian coast, 
to secure the gold and silver mines of that region. On the 
west, Sicily became almost wholly Greek, and southern Italy 
took the proud name of Magna Graecia (Great Greece). In- 
deed, settlements were sown from end to end of the Mediter- 
ranean. Among the more important of the colonies were 
Syracuse in Sicily, Tarentuni, Sybaris, and Croton in Italy, 
Corcyra near the mouth of the Adriatic, Massilia (Marseilles) 
in Gaul, Olynthus in Thrace, Cyrene in Africa, Byzantium at 
the Black Sea's mouth, and Nancratis in Egypt (§ 32).^ 

123. Method of Founding Colonies. — Many motives besides 
the commercial assisted this movement. Sometimes a city 
found its population growing too fast for its grain supply. 
Often there was danger of class struggles, so that it seemed 
well to get rid of the more adventurous of the poorer citizens. 
Perhaps some daring youth of a noble family longed for a more 
active life than he found at home, and was glad to become the 
head of a new settlement on a distant frontier. 

In any case the oracle at Delphi was first consulted. If the 
reply was favorable, announcements were made and volunteers 

1 Map study : on outline maps, or on the board, locate the districts and cities 
mentioned in §§ 121 and 122. 



§ 124] POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 137 

were ^'athered for the exfxiditioii. The mother city always 
^ave tlie sac-red lire for the new city lieartli, and appointed tiie 
"founder." Tliis "founder" (;Ht,ahIish(Ml tlie new settlement 
with religious rites and distributed the inhal)itants, who 
thronged in from all sides, into arfJJla'dl tribes and clans. 




KuiNH OK IHK A'lHLicnr l''iKM) AT J)KiJ'in. Sccddd oiily to llio (Olympic 
Games, and similar to Ihcin, was tlu; Festival at Delphi in honor of Apollo. 

The coloniats ceased to he eitizciin of their old home, and the 
new city enjoyed complete iiidej)endenee. The colony recogni/ed 
a religious connection witli its "metropolis" (mother city), 
and of course tlier*; were often strong bonds of friendship 
between the two; but there was no political union between 
them — until Athens invented a new form of colony which will 
be described later (§ 148). 

III. (:iIAN(iKS IN GOVERNMENT 

124. The Kings overthrown by Oligarchies. — V>etween 1000 
and 500 n.c. the " kings " disa[)ijearcd from every Greek city 



i:>S IlKLLAS l-'KOM 1000 TO :.00 1V(\ |§ \'2r> 

o\t't»j>l Sp;ir(a ami .\r;;os. ami cww in lln>si> rititvs \\\r\ h^sl nuKst, 
of lluMi' old po\V(M-. The ('lian_L;<> was {\\v work ol llir iu»l>K's ; 
aiul (hat class dividiul tlu> ii>val j»o\vim- amoiiiL;- 1 luMusrl V(\s. 
iMonarcliios Ljavt' way io (>li_i;arc'lii(\s. 

A HoMKM-ic kin<;\ \V(> have s(^mi, luid llutM" kinds iA' diilit\s : lu> 
was /r<fr (7//(7", }u(Uj(\ and pritst. 'riu> olliiu' ol' war chii^t' could 
U»ast safely ho Ud't to the accident of birth. .\ccordini;ly t ho 
nc^hh^s iook away this part o\' \\\o kind's duties lirst, tnrnini; 
it dver to ollicers nvIumu they elected I'roui aunMii;- I heu>sel\ t*s. 
'I'hen, as jiulicial work ini'n\is(>d with th(« growth iA' city life, 
sptH'ial indt;"(*s wtM'c t'hostMi to lak(> o\cv that part (»f the kin;;"s 
work. 'Phi* pri(\stly dii^nity was connect imI most closely with 
family d(>scent (^§§ 101, lO'JV thiMtd'orc il was hd't lon,L;i\st a. 
uiatltM- o\' inheritanc(\ 

Tliis, IhtMi, was the utMUM-al onhn- o\' the t'hans;"es by whit'h 
the ndt' o/' o//c nmii hcrdiiK the nilv of '- (lie h/r." 'Vhc |H'ocess 
was gradual; \\\o means and ot-i'asion vari«>d. .\ contivst be- 
tw»>en (wo rivals for (lu» (hrone, or tht> dy in^- out oi' a royal 
line, or a wi^ik kin>;- ov a minor, any oi' t hes(> conditions madi* 
i( easy for \\\c nibbles (o encroach uj^on the n^yal power. 

125. Olijiarchies overthrown by Tyrjints. (>ri,!.;inally. (lu^ aris- 
(i>cratic clennMit ci>nsisted o\' tin* council of clan ehhM's (^i l(^(>), 
but with tim«> it had b(>couu> uunlilied in man\ ways. Some- 
tinu^s lh(> faniilies o\' a lew i;rt»at chiefs had co\\\o to ov(M'- 
sluidow \\\o \vs\. 1 u (»t luM- plact^s, i^roups o( con(iu«MMnj; launlu>s 
ruled t luMlesctMidant s ot t he con(puM'«>d. SouuMinu\s, juMhaps, 
W(\ilth ht'ljud to draw Iht^ lin(> IhMwimmi 'Mht> lew " and "the 
many." \l all events, (hi ;v teas in (ill (tnu/x- (•/(iis d shdrp line 
bt'twt'cn //CO (7(fNN(N, one callinu- itself " the lew." •* the L;-ood." 
"(he n(4^h> " ; and am>ther t'allctl by tlu>st> "the many." "tlu* 
bad," " the base." 

"The fi>w " had succ«Hnled (lu* kiui;s. "The many" were 
iipprossod and misi^-ovtMaunl. ami (hey b(\uan toi'lamor forridi(»f. 
Tlu>y wtM-«» \oo ignorant as yi>t to uuiintain themselv(>s against. 
(In* in((^llii;i»n( and bt^tttM- united " b^v " ; but tlu^ way was 
proparod for thorn by Mio " (.yran(s" (-j lL*(i). 



§ I'JC.I I'OLITKAL ICMVOLirriONS |:{<) 

Why (l()(;s it inatltM who coiitiolH Ww ^^ovornmciit ? Tho Mtu(h-nt 
should Ix'^iti to think upon tins inattct. (lOvctniiKMit is not a matti^r of 
dij^nity mainly, but a very practical matter. It touches our daily life 
very closely. In one of our States, for many years past, a certain railroad 
has controlled the legislature. Therefore it has escaped taxation, for the 
most part, upon its immense wealth ; and every poor man in the State 
has had to pay unduly hi^'.h taxes in consecjuence, leaving', less moii(;y for 
his children's shoes and books. The same railroad has been permitted to 
charRe exorbitant rates on freight. Every farmer has received too little 
for his wheat ; and every citizen has paid too much for Hour. So for 
forty years, in our own day and country, bij!, business inter(!sts have 
striven constantly to own congress and le)i;islatures and judges and ^ov- 
ernors, so as to get or keep monopolies or tariff advantaKcs or otljor 
special privile^eH, by which they have heaped up riches which, in the 
louK run, have been drawn from the homes of the working people. In 
early society, class distinct ions are drawn more sharply, and class rule was 
even more tyrannical. " Tin; few " ar(! usually wiser than " the many " ; 
but all history proves that class rubr by " the j;oo(l " is sure to be a selhsh, 
bad rule. 

126. "Tyrants" pave the Way for Democracies. lU'Wnc. 
nOO ii.c, every city in I, lie (irccU |)('iiiiisiil;i, ('xc.*'.!)!, S|»;i,rl-;i, li;ul 
ils l,yr;iiil,, or had had one. Iiil.hc oiil.Iyin;^' pa,rl,H ol" lhdht,.s, 
t.yraiil-M were ('(immoii l.hroiif^di la,t,('i- hisl.ory a,ls(), hiif, hy t,he 
year r)()() iJicy ha.d disappeared lr(»iii I, he iiiaJii pciiiniada,; ami 
HO t/hc- U(u> (U'iihiri<'s J'r(nn, 7(M) h> FtOO /;.r. (trc .sanicfimrs nt.llcd. Ilia 
" A<i<' of 7)/nni/s.^^ 

In (n'rcr/,- liistort/ a. /i/ninf is not ncccHsari/.t/ <i hod or rrncl rii/cr : 
he /.s .Hini'ph/ <t nran. n^lio hif J'onw scizcH Hnprcnic power. I>ut, 
;irhit,ra.ry nd(; wa,H haicrid t,o l.he (ir<'(d<H, and tlur nmrd(u- of a, 
tyrant, sfienicd l,o I, hem a, [^mxmI lu-l,. Soinel inics, t,oo, t.he 
HtdliHlincHs a.nd ern(!ll,y ol' ,sn(di nilcrH jn.slJli(!d t-he d(H,(!Ht,at,ion 
wliieli Ht-ili elin^'H t>() t-ln; iianH;. \\\\\, aX tJic; worHt tJie t,yrants 
seom to lia.vcr Ixuui a n(MM;H,sary evil, t,o bi-eak down l,lie ^reat,(;r 
evil of the HelCiHli oli^'arcdiie.s. Many lyraiil.s were K<*'"''''><iH, 
far-Hi }<ht>( id niler-H, ])uildin»; pnhlie works, developing' tra,(le, 
|)a,1,roni/in^' a,rt a,nd liUu'atnrc. ; but, t,iieir iiia,in vaJne in hisl,ory 
was this : llu'ij paved the, way for de/rnocrarj/ . 



140 ITELLAS FUOAT 1000 TO f.OO R.C. (§ 127 

Soinotinies a tyrant had Ihhmi an ambitious noble ; sometimes 
a man of the people, by birth. In either case, he usnally avou 
his mastery by coming forward, in some crisis of civil strife, 
as the chami)ion of "the many." When he had made himself 
tyrant of his city, he surrounded himself with paid soldiers ; 
but he sought also to keep the favor of the masses, who had 
helped him to the throne. The nobles he could not conciliate. 
These he burdened with taxes, oppressed, exiled, and murdered. 
The story goes that Periander, tyrant of (\)rinlh, sent to the 
tyrant of Miletus to ask his advice in government. The Mile- 
sian took the nu^ssenger through a grain field, striking off the 
linest and tallest ea,rs as they walked, and sent him l)ack with- 
out other answer. 

Thus when the tyrants themselves were overthrown, democ- 
racy had a chance. The nobles were weaker than before, and 
the people had gained contidence. In the Ionian cities, the 
next step Avas usually a denu)cratic government. In Dorian 
parts of Greece, more connnonly there followed an aristocracy. 
But this was always much broader, and less objectionable, 
than the older oligarchies. The tyrants had done their work 
effectively.^ 

This, then, was the general order of change : the kings give way to 
oligarchies ; the oligarchies are overthrown by tyrants ; and the tyrants, 
unintentionally, prepare the way for the rule of the people. We shall 
now trace the changes, with more detail, in the two leading cities of 
Hellas, — Sparta and Athens. The first had less change than any other 
city. The second led the movement. 

IV. KISE OF SPAHTA TO MILITAHY HEADSHIP 

127. Changes in Early Sparta. — The invading Dorians founded 
many petty states in the reloiwnnesus. For a time one of the 
weakest of these was Sparta. Her territory covered only a 

lExKRCiSK. — Contrast the "tyrants" with the HonuM-ic kings, — as to 
origin of power; as to liinitatit)n by custom aiul public oi)iiiion ; us to security 
in their positions. 



§ 12H] SPARTA'S IIKADSIIIP 141 

few square miles. It was slml off iioiii \.\nt sea, and it was 
surrounded by powerful nei^lil)()rs. 

The lat(;r Sj)artans attril)iit<Ml tlicir rise; IVom these condi- 
tions to tlie ndornis of a certain Li/cunjas. Certainly, about 
the year 900, whether the reformer's name was Lycurgus or 
not, th(! S|)artans adopted peculiar institutions which made 
tli(im a marked p(!()j)le. TIh; n(nv hiws and customs disci j)liiH'd 
and luirdcMHul them; and thc^y soon (mt(u*(!(l upon a brilliant 
care(!r of con(jU(;st. I>efore 700, th(!y had subducid all Laconia; 
b(d"or(! OoO, M('ss(;nia also ; while tin; other states of the INdo- 
poiiiicsus, (!X(M'pt h()s1,il(! Ar}^^)s, had be<;()nie tlicir alliens. 

128. Government. — Si)arta had two kijKjH. An old hi^^md 
explained this peculiar arran^^(;m(^nt as due to the birth of twin 
princes. At;ill events in this city the; royal pow(M' was weaken(}d 
by division, and so tin; nobh^s wei-(i less t(im])ted to al)olish it. 

Ther(! was also a Smale of thirty eld(u-s. In practice, this 
body was the most impoit.ant j)art of the ^overnnKuit. The 
kinjLjs held two of tin; seals, and the peoi)le elected the twenty- 
eight other senators. 

No one luidcr sixty years of ;i^(! could b(! chosen. TIk; eaudidates wctro 
l(!d thi'ou^li llie Assernbiy in turn, and as each ])asHed, tlu; p(!0[jle sliotited. 
.Iud^<!S, shut up in a room from whicii th(!y could not see the, candidates, 
listened to the; shouts and \r,:\,sv, tluj vacancy to th(; on(; whoH(; api)(;aranc(; 
had call(!d out the; loudest welcome. Aristoth;, a laUir fireek wriU^r, callH 
this method "cliildish" ; but it lias an interesting I'elation to our viva- 
voce, voting, when; a (diairmau decides, in the first instance;, by noise. 

A pojyiddr Assfmihl// of all Spartans chose scuiators and other 
officers, and (hMtided important matters laid ))ef()re it — subject 
to a veto by the Senate. The Assend)ly had no right to intro- 
duce n(;w measures, and the common Spartan could not even 
take part in the debate. 

About 725 n.c. new magistrates, called E/thors, becanu? the 
chief rulers. Five Kphors wt^ra chosen each yciir by the Assem- 
bly, and any Spartan might be elected. The Kphors called the 
Assembly, presided over it, and acted as judges in all important 
matters. One or two of them accompanied the king in war, 



142 IIMLLAS FROM 1000 TO nOO WC. [§120 

willi j)()W»M- l(> coiilrol liis movciiuMits, and even to nrrosl, l)ini 
and |Mil him lo d*>alli. in practice, (he I'Jp/iorsdcfcd as t/n' scrr- 
(t/ifs oj' (he KSi'iKth', wliieli indeed really nnitrollcil the noniina- 
tions and eleetions ol' thes(> oHieers. 

To tho Greeks, all delei^ation of power, even to officers elected for 
short terms, seemed undemocratic. They would not have called our 
government by President, Congress, and Supreme Court a democracy at 
all. Our government is sometimes called a " representative democracy." 
To the Greeks, democracy always meant " direct democracy," — a gov- 
ernment in which each freeman took somewhat the same part that a 
member of Congress does witli us — a system such tliat each citizen 
voted, not occasionally, to elect representatives, but constantly, on all 
matters of importance, — which matters he might also discuss in the 
ruling Assembly of his city. Even one of our State governments with 
the '* initiative " and " referendum " would have seemed to the Greek a 
very mild sort of " direct democracy." By his standard, Sparta was 
exceedingly aristocratic. 

129. Classes in Laconia. - ^\orooyo\\ the SpartiOis a}< a frho/c 
in re a ndimj i'li(ss in (he midst oJ' SKhjccts riii/it or (rn times tJnir 
}tiinih('r. 'V\n'\ were siiuplv ;» eaniiioi' some nine thousand eon- 
qiuu'Di's (wilh t.heir I'annlitvs) livini;' undtM- ai-ms in t lieir unwalled 
city. 'Plu\v wiM-e wholly Liiven to eamj) life. 'rh(\v had takt>n 
to themselvi>s tht> most fertile lands in iiai'onia, hut they did 
no work. l''aeh man's land was tilled by eiMlain slaves, or 
.11 dots. 

The Helots nundxM'ed lour or livt* to one Spartan. They 
wtM'ii slaves, not to individual Sj)artans. hut to the ^overnnuMd. 
Besides tillini;- the Spartan lands, they lurnished li>;ht-armed 
t.roops in war; hut they were a constant dan«;-er. A secret. 
]>olic(> of active Spartan youth busied itself in detecting" plots 
anions' tluMU, and sonuMimes carried out secret massacre's c>f tho 
more intelli^-ent. and andut ions slaves. 

IndetMl \l WAS liticful for any Spartan to kill a Ibdot with- 
out, trial; and sometimes crowds of iltdots vanished mysteri- 
ously wlitMi thtur numbers thre;itcn(Hl Sj^artan safety. On one 
occasion, in the great struggle with Athens in tho fifth ecu- 



§ \M)\ si»AirrA's iiKADsiiii' 1 1;5 

l.iiry (§§ IDli IT.), Mm' S|.:iit-:ui,s ,<;:ivr Mic 1 Idols Iic:i,vy iinnor, 
bill, ;i.rt(»rW{ir(l 1.1m\V Ik'coiiic tcri-ilicd ;il, I, lie possible ('oiis<'- 
(ju(!n('.(\s. 'IMiucydidcs (iJic (Jrcck liisloriaii of lliai pcriodj 
tcdls liovv Ui(iy iiKil \]\v (la,n^^(M- : 

"'I'licy proclaiiiUMl l.lijil. a .snicciUoii would he. madd of tlioH(i llclol.s who 
(tlMiiiKMl to hav(! rciuhu-cd i\u\ boHt H(!rvi(!(i to llic, Spartaim in the w;ir, ;i,ii(l 
pi'omi.scd tliciM liberty. Tho annoimcduiciit w;i,.s intended to t(!Ht tlicni : 
it was thought that those ainonj; them who w(!re I'oreino.st in aHHci'tinj; 
their Treedom would \ni inoKt hi^h-Kpiiite,d and most likely to rise aj^aiiist 
their masters. So [the Sp;M't;Mis| selneted about two thousjuid, who wens 
crowned with garlands, and went in proe(!Ssion round tiie tciinples. They 
[the llclots] were supposed to liavc^ I'ceeived their lil)ei'ty, friit nof, hniij 
afterwards the S/Kirfaiis put fhcni, nil onf, of Uw ntdy^ <ni.<l no tanii. /ciicio 
hoin (Hill of f/i'iii' <'<tiiK' lit Ihtir end.''' 

Tiic iiilia.bil,;tiil,s <)!' \.\w- bimdrcd sm;i,II subjocd, iovviiH of Laoo- 
ni;i, were I'vvr. men, Intt llicy were, not /Krrf of the Spartan utatc. 
'I'liey kepi, Mieir own ciisl.oms and sliaicd in Mie ^niverniiienl, (d" 
tlieir (dl.ies, iindei- I. lie supervision <d" Spai'tan iMiIers. 'I'ix'y 
tilled lands ol' Mieir own, and lliey ea.rried on sindi l,i-ades and 
c.oiniiieree as cixislcMl in Ija.eonia,. 

'rin^se snbjeel, Ija.('()nia,ns wer(> MircMi or I'oiir l,o one Spa,rl,an ; 
and they i'lirnisbc^d, in larj.((! nn^asiire, I.Ik^ liea,vy-a,nne(l soldiers 
of \\u\ S|>a,rlan army. The l*iplioi's could piil, Mieiii l.o death 
withoiil; trial, but. they seem, a,s a iMile, to ba,v(; bec^n wtdi treated 
and W(dl eoiitenl,. 

Thus till', inha.bitants of Laconia \wi\Y(\ of thr('(^ (dasses : 
a, aniall riili luj hod// of inarriors, lirivfj in one (•ciilni/ scll/cnwiil ; 
a, laiyc. class of criwl/i/ //-('((led, rural serfs, lo lilt I he soil for these 
aristor/ratic. soldiers ; (mother lanjc ehtss of weU-trcatcd suhje<-ts, 
— town-didellcTs^ — iriJio, hoidc/vcr, h.ad no share, in the Spartan 
govcrtmicnt. 

130. "Spartan Discipline." — Spai'ta kept its ma,stery in La- 
conia l)y sle(!pless vi^ila,ne<i and l)y a I'if^id disci pi in(\ 'l'ha,t 
disoiplino is sonnd.imes praised as "the S|)a,rta,n tI•ainin,L,^" 
Its sol<^ aim was to iiia,ke soldi(!rH. It siicc(M!(1(m1 in this; but 
it was liarsli and brutaL 



144 HELLAS PROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 130 

The familji, as well as the man, belo)t(jed ahsohiteh/ to the 
state. The Epliors exainineil each chiUl, at its birth, to decide 
whether it was tit to live. If it seemed weak or puny, it was 
exposed in the mountains to die. The father and mother 
coukl not save it. If it was strong and healthy, it was re- 
turned to its parents for a few years. But after a boy reached 
the age of seven, he never again slept under his mother's roof: 
he was taken from home, to be trained with other boys under 
public officers, until he was twenty. 

The boys were taught reading and a little nuirtial music, 
but they were given no other mental culture. The main i)ur- 
pose of their education was to harden and strcngtlicn the body 
and to develop self-control and obedience. On certain festival 
days, boys were whipped at tlie altars to test their endurance ; 
and Plutarch (a Greek writer of the second century a.d.) states 
that they often died under the lash rather than utter a cry. 
This custom was much like the savage " sun-dance " of some 
American Indian tribes. Indeed, several features of Spartan 
life that are ascribed by legend to Lycurgus seem rather to 
have been survivals of a barbarous period that the Spartans 
never wholly outgrew. 

From twenty to thirty, the youth lived under arms in bar- 
racks. There he was one of a mess of fifteen. From his land 
he had to provide his part of the barley meal, cheese, and 
black broth, with meat on holidays, for the company's food. 
The mess drilled and fought side by side, so that in battle 
each man knew that his daily companions and friends stood 
about him. These many years of constant military drill made 
it easy for the Spartans to adopt more complex tactics than 
were possible for their neighbors. They were trained in small 
regiments and companies, so as to maneuver readily at the 
word of command. This made them superior in the field. 
They stood to the other Greeks as disciplined soldiery always 
stand to untrained militia. 

At thirty the man was required to marry, in order to rear 
more soldiers ; but he must still eat in barracks, and live there 



§ 132] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 145 

most of the time. He had no real liome. Said an Athenian, 
'' The Spartan's life is so unendurable that it is no wonder lie 
throws it away lightly in battle." 

There was certain virtue, no doubt, in this training. The 
Spartans had the quiet dignity of born rulers. In contrast with 
the noisy Greeks all about them, their speech was brief and 
pithy ("laconic" speech). They used only iron money. And 
their plain living made them appear superior to the weak in- 
dulgences of other men. After the introduction of Ephors, 
their form of government did not change for five hundred 
years ; and this changeless character called forth admiration 
from the other Greeks, who were accustomed to kaleidoscopic 
revolutions. Spartan women, too, kept a freedom which un- 
happily was lost in other Greek cities. Girls were trained in 
gymnastics, much as boys were ; and tlie women were famous 
for beauty and health, and for public spirit and patriotism. 

131. The value of the Spartans to the world lay in the fact that they 
made a garrison for the rest of Greece, and helped save something better 
than themselves. In themselves, they were hard, ignorant, narrow. 
They did nothing for art, literature, science, or philosophy. If the Greeks 
had all been Spartans, we could afford to omit the study of Greek history. 

For Further Rkading. — All students should read the charming 
account of Spartan customs contained iu Tlutarch's Life of Lycur<jus. 
Davis' Headinfjs has several pages of extracts from the more valuable 
part. 

Exercise. — Name the three classes of people in Laconia. Which one 
alone had full political riglits ? What were the four parts of the govern- 
ment ? State the powers of each. 

V. BEGINNING OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 

132. Consolidation of Attica. — Athens was the only city in At- 
tica — a considerable territory. Like Sparta, Athens was the 
result of more consolidation than was common with Greek cities. 
In other districts as large as Attica or Laconia there were 
always groups of independent cities. Boeotia, for instance, 
contained twelve cities, jealous of one another ; and ThebeS; 



I 10 IIKLI.AS KKOM lOOO TO AOO H.(\ |§ \:VA 

t.lu' l:irL;(\s(, aiuoMi;- (luMii, coiilil at. best liopt' lor only a limited 
loadcrshii) over Ium- rivals. 

In Attioa, lH't\)n« liistorv really bt\i;an, tho l)Oi;iMnini::s oi several cities 
hail bet'ii eonsolidateil in i>ne (§ 108). Itideeil, (H)iisoliilat.ii)n had been 
carried eviMi farther than with Sparta. Athens was the home of all the 
free inhabitants of Attiea, not merely the cump of one rnlin;;- tribe. 

133. Favorable Conditions. — .\ttii';i is ono ol" the inosi t>asily 
(IoIoiuUhI districts of all (Jnu'co — a,i;ainst. any force not. abso- 
liittdy ovi^rwhtdming. It is a. pcninsuUi; and on the two land 
sides, wh(M-c it borders IMeujaris and Hoeotia, it is rtMidu'd oidy 
tlironi,d\ fairly ditlicult passes. These facts explain, in part, 
why Attiea was the oiu^ spot of sonthern (Jreeei* not overrnn by 
conquerors at thi' time of the Dorian mi«,M'ation. Natnrally, it 
becanu' a refuL^c lor Ionian (dans driven from the reloi»onn{>sns. 
The ritdiest ami stroni;'est of these were adopted into the trilu^s 
of Attica.. Others becaint^ dependaids. The fretpient and 
peacefid introduction of new blood helpt>d to make the peopli^ 
]u-oi;'ressive ami oj»en to outside iidluence. 

134. Decline of the Homeric Kingship. — liiUt> other (!rt(dv 
cities, .\thens lost her kin^s in the dim eeiduries btd'ore w(^ 
have any real history. 'IMie nobles be^an to rt^strict the royal 
power alH)ut 1000 n.c. The kini;'s titU' had been /ximj-drrhoii. 
Aloni;\side the kin«;-archon the nobles first set up, from anu)ng 
themselves, a fritr-drchon {/lolciiKtrch). 'I'luMi they ereaied a 
cliic/-(trch(>ii, usually called (he Archoii, to act as judi;"e aiul as 
chief executive of the i;overnmeid.. AfttM- that, the kini;--archon 
was only the city-priest. In 751*, the otHi'e was made elective, 
for ten-year terms. Vov some tinu» lonj^'er the kini^-archon was 
always (diosen from the old royal family; but tinally the ollice 
was thrown open to any noble. At last, in OSl* n.c, the arelions 
W(>re all made anmial otHcers, and tlie number was increased to 
iunt>, because of the p:rowinix judicial work. 

135. Rule by the Nobles. — I'he nobles wen^ known as Eupa- 
trids (well-born). They were tlie chiefs of the numerous elans 
in Attica. Their council was called the Areopagus, from the 



§ \:W] lUSK OF DEMOCRACY AT ATIIMNS M7 

name ol' i\\o. Iiill wh(;ro it irK^t TIk; An!()j>a|,niH chose; Uk; 
archons (i'loin ii()l)I(\s, oi cirnvHc), and ruled Attica. 'Vho other 
tril)(!Sin(Mi h;ul (!V(mi 1(!Ss iiilliiciicc iJiiui in Homeric tini(\s. 
77i('i/ no /oiif/cr Inul a /x/filiad As.Hnnhl//. 

136. Economic' Oppression. — The; nol)l(;s tyraiiiiiz<Hl over the; 
comiiioii l,ril)esiiieii in economie iri;i,f,t(!rs. Most of llic Idnd luul 
aniLH /,(} IxdoiKj l,<) llui ii.ohLits. They tilled it mainly hy tenants, 
who paid yiw^^ Hixths of the jjroduce lor rcuit. A had s(;ason or 
Jiostile rava^f^s coiri[)elled these t(;nants to borrow s(M;d or food, 
and to niort^M^a; thfuiisr-lvc^s for |)aym(Hit. If a debtor fjiiled 
to \):\y promptly, he; ;i,nd his lamily (;ould be draj^^C/d off in 
chains and sold into slav(;ry. 

I>esides tin; ^n-eat landloi-ds and tluMr tenants, there was a 
class of smaJl iiu-mcu-s owning' then- own la.nds ; bnt ofUui tlnrsr; 
men also wcr(3 obliged to l)()rrow of the nobhis. In eonse- 
cpKiiice, many of them pass(ul into the condition of tenants. 
Aristotle (a later ({I'cek writer j says: — 

" TIk! poor with tlioir wivoH arxl c]iiI(h-(Mi wcirc tlio vory bondMmcii of Mk; 
rich, who naimid th(;in Sixth-mon, hociauw! it waH for this wa^c; they tilled 
the land. The entire land was in the hands of a i<;w. It th(! poor failed 
to pay their rents tJKjy wc.ro liable to be haled into Klav(!ry. . . . They 
were diseontented also with ev(!ry other f(!atiu-(! of the,ir lot, for, to sftc-ak 
generally, thnj lui,(l, no hIuwc in. ifuyUunf/.'" — fJon.sfUn/j'on of AUwus, 'Z. 

137. The first advance was to base political power in part upon 
wealth. 'I'he snjircMnaey of the nobh'S ha,d i-ested larg<'ly on 
their snperiority in wai-. 'I'h(;y (;om[)os(;d tin; "kni^dits," or 
heavy-armed cavalry oi' Attica, in comparison with this cav- 
alry, the early foot soldiery was only a lii^dit-armed mob. ]>nt, 
before 050, the Athenians adopted the Dorian |)lan of a lieavy- 
armed infantry (" hoj^lites "), with shi<dd, h(dirn;t, and lon<,' 
Sf>f;ar. Ilia Hcrriojl ranks of thin infanf/n/ jyrovMl abla to repel 
cavalry. The importance of the nobles in war dc'clined, and 
there followed some decrease in their political power. 

1 '*Eeononrii(;" meariH " with refereiiee to f)rop(',rty," or " with refcirence to 
tlu! way of ^ottiri;; a livinj^." 'I'he wor*! must not h<! confused with "eco- 
nomical." 



14cS 



TIKLLAS VnOM lOOO TO fA){) W.C. 



I§ i:is 



Earli man luriiislKMl his own :u ins for war. So, in order that 
onch nii<;ht know just, what military sorvice was ro(|uinHl from 
him, all tribtvsnu'n w(>rc divided into four classes, acrordiiK/ to 
their ycarltf iiicomc from land} The iirst and second chisses 
(the richest oni's) were obliged to serve as knights, or cavalry. 
Doubtless at first these were all nobles. The third class were 
to arm themselves as hoplites. The fourth class were called 
into the Held less often, and only as light-armed troops. 

This " census " was designed. 
only to regulate aerviee in the 
(irnn/, but it luH^anm a basis for 
the distrihidion of p<diticid jutirer. 
All the heavy-arnu'd soldiery — 
///<' three higher eht.^ses — came to 
luive the right to vote on (|ues- 
tions of j)eace aiul war, and in 
tinu^ they grew into a neir politi- 
e<d ^{sse nihil/. This AsstMubly 
ehs'ted archons and other officers. 
Thus politicid rights ceased to he 
hitsed trholhi on hirth, and heeanie partly a matter of wealth. 

138. Civil Strife. — In general, however, the nobles seenu'd 
ahnost as safely intrenched under the new syst.em by their 
wealth as they had been befcu-e by birth. Their rule continued 
selfish and incompetent ; and nothing had lu'cn done to cure 
the sulf(M'ings <)[' the \)ooy. The peoj)le grew nu)re and uu>re 
bitter; and, at length, ambitious adventurers b(\gan to try to 
overthrow the oligarchy and make themselves tyrants. One 
young conspirator, Cylon, with his forces, actually seized the 
Acropolis, the citadel of Athens. The nobles rallied, and 
Cylon was deft^ated ; but the ruling oligarchy had received a 
fright, aiul they now made a great concession ($ \IV.)). 




(JUKKK S( 



1 5(X)-iueasuro moii, o(XViu(>asun» mon, 'jeO-nioasuro nuMi, and thoso wlioso 
incoino was loss tlian '-HK) inoasnros of wheat. (Tho (inn'k " incasurc " was a 
little nioro than half a bushol.) 



§140] ItlSK OF DMMOC^JUCY AT ATIIKNS 149 

139. Draco: Written Laws. — UiiMl ()21 i{.(;., Ailicniiui hiw 
had Imm'ii ;i m;iU,(U' ol" aiirit'id ciihIoih. It, was iiofc wriU,(Ui down, 
and imicli of it was known only to Uio nobles. All ju(l;;(\s, of 
(joiirse, W(!n5 nol)l(^s ; and they abnsiMl IIkml- |)ow(m- in ordctr to 
favor iiicirown class. 'I'licndon^ tin; Al,li(U»ians clamored lor a 
written code. They did not ask y(^l, lor //rw laws, hut oidy 
that tho old laws nii^lit In; (hdinitcdy IIxcmI and known to a,ll. 

The nobles liad lon^' n^sisted this (hunanch Uut in (llil, 
after tlu^ attempt of (lylon, they conscMited that I)r<wo, one of 
the arc lions, should draw uj) a written cochi. This was don(? ; 
and the "laws of Draco" w(M'e engravcul on woodcMi blocks ;ind 
Hv,t \i\) where; all might see them. Drac-o did not nuik(^ ik^w 
laws: he; nuirely j)ut old customs into iix(*d writt(Mi foiin. 'i'lie 
result wa,s to mak<' men f(;el how harsh and uidit the old laws 
wen;, — ^^ wriUrn. in, hlood nilher Ifiati ink,^^ as was said in a later 
age. The AtluMiiaiis now (h-manded new laws. 

140. Solon. — Just at this time Athens ])roduc(;d a rare man 
who was to rend(;r her great service. jSolon, was a (l(;sc-endant 
of the old kings. In his youth Ik; had Ixum a trader to otlu^r 
lands, ev(;n going as far as l^'^gypt (§ 2'.\). II(; was alrcNidy 
famous as a pcxit, a giMieral, aiul a philosopluM- ; and In; was t,o 
show himsidf also a st-atc.sman. 

SoImii'h p.'itriol.isin had luMtii proven. Al, oik^ liinc, the ijitcnial (|u;urelH 
had HO W(!:ik('ii('(l Athens Uial little Mej^ara had captunul Salaruis. Iti 
control of this island, it was easy lor IVI»;^ara Ut hv.Wa'. ships tryiii;^ to enter 
th(! Athenian ports. lOITorts t,o recover this important place failed miser- 
ably ; and, in d(!spair, tin; AtlKsnians had voted to put t,o death any oik; 
who should a<,^aiii propose tho attempt. Solon shammed madness, — to 
claim a crazy man's privilege, — and, appearing suddenly in the Assem- 
bly, recited a warlike, patriotic poem which roused his countrymen to 
fresh efforts. Solon was made general ; and Ik; recovered Salamis and 
saved Athens from ruin. 

Now, in peril of civil war, the city turned naturally to Solon. 
He was known to sympathize with the poor. In his ))oems he 
had blamed the grcMul of tlu; nobles and had ph^aded for recon- 
ciliation between the classes. All trusted him, and the poor 
IovcmI him. He was elected Arrhon, with special authority, to 



150 IIKLLAS F\Un\ lOOO TO AOO B.C. 1§ 1 11 

iniikt^ new l;i\vs and to rt'inodcl Mic ^ovcnmuMil,. This ollico 
he lu>l(l for Iwo years, r>il/ und ,'>!K! /.'.('. 

141. The '' Shaking-off of Burdens/' — The lirsi year Solon 
swi'pt away tH'onomit' m'ils. 'r/ircc measures ri(jh(ed past 
icrontjs : — 

«. The old tenants wim-o i^iviMi lull ownership of the lands 
which they had I'ornicrly cnltivaled lor the nobles/ 

h. All debts were eaneeled so as to j;iv(^ a- new start. 

c. AH Athenians in shivery in Attica, were iVeecL 
VVro ntcasKrcs aiinctl to prevent a ret urn ({fold erils: — 

(/. It was made illei'al to reduce Athenians to slavery. 

e. To own more than a certain (]uantit,y ot hind was tor- 
bidden. 

In later times the whole people ceh^bralcd these acts of Solon 
each year by a '' Festival of the Shakini;--olT ol' Ihirdens." 

142. Political Reform. — Thesi^u-onomic changes resulted in 
political chanu-e, since })olitica.l i)ower was already based upon 
landed })ro})erty. Up to the time of Solon, the nobles had 
owned most of the land. I hit now much of it. had been <jiren. 
to the poor, and hencel\)rtli it was easy for any I'ich man to hii>/ 
land. Many merchants now rose into tlu> lirst class, whiles 
many nobles sank into other classes. Soon, the Kupatrid name 
disappeared. 

Moreover, in the se(u>nd year of Ins Archonship, Solon intw- 
diiceil direct political chan(fes (chich wetd fur totrctrd niitking 
Athens it ilentocrdcif. 

a. .^1 iSe)Hde ira,s created, to })rei)are nu^asures for the Assem- 
bly to act upon. The nuMubers were chosen each year hi/ lot,- so 
that neither wealth nor birth I'ould control the election. This 
new part of the i^overnmeiit becanu^ tlu' (jiiidincf ])art. 

b. The Atisemblf/ (§ lo7) was enlarged both as to size and 



1 In one of his pooins, Solon spoalvs of " froinnj? tho cusljivod land," by re- 
niovinjj: tho stono pillars which liad niarktxt llio nobles' ownorsiiip. 

'^ Tho lot in olootions was rouanh'd as an appoal to tlu^ uods, and its uso was 
aocouipaniod by ndi.i;ious saoriticos and by prayer. 'Tho early Puritans in New 
Euf^land sometimes used tho lot in a similar way. 



§1451 RISK OW DKMOCKACV AT ATIIKNS 151 

power. Thn 'M'ourtli (^lasH " (li^'lil.-aniHMl sol(li(;i-y) w(;i-(! ;i(l- 
iriiUJMl to voic, ill it- — tlioii^'li Ui<'y w(!r»! not allowed i,o hold 
offi-CO of iiiiy kind. 'I'liis (;nl;i,r^(Ml Asscinldy ol' ;iJl AUi<'iii:i,ii 
tril)<!sni(!ii (Umiissc.d the, jjrojjo.sals oi' the S(!iiaU; and (Ircidcd 
upon tficiii ; i'l.cdt'd, \,\\v, arcdious; and (umld Ivf/ tham for 'rrd.Hfjov- 
ernmevi a1, ilic end ol' iJicir y(';u' of ollicc. 

c. The Araopfq/iiH waH no lorif^cr a council of nobl(!H only, ft iran 
composed of cx-arrhouH. TIiuh, \i, waH cicctcrd, indirectly, by Mk; AHHcnibly. 
It bad lost nioHt ol' its pow(U',s to the S('ii;i,tc ;uid AHH(!/nbly ; hut it i(; 
inaincd a court to try nnircb r cawK, and to (exerciser a, .supervision over 
tlu! inoralH of the eitizeuK, with powcu- t,o iiupoKe bneH b)r extrava^rsmce, 
iuHobincc!, or gluttony. 

143. Additional Measures. -Solon ulso replaced l)ra(;o'H 
bloody laws witli a niildcn- code;; introduced ;i. eoinu-^n; (^ 70); 
made, it tli(; duty ol" eucli fatlier to teae-h \\\h son a ti'a,d(; ; 
liniitod tli(! weultli Mud, lui^^lit Ix; buried with Ihe de,;id ; and 
resti'iot(;d woiuen IVoiu a|)peariii;^ in publie,. 

144. The sixth century b.c. was one of jj^reat progress in Athens. 
In 6'rV^^ I{.(J., a lew nobhj laniili(!S still owned most oi" the; 

soil, possess<Ml all political p(jw(;r, and li<dd th(; i-(;st of" the |)(m>- 
ple in virtual slav(;i-y. 

In 5f/'j Ii.(J., wh(;n Solon laid down his ofIi(;c5, luiarly all 
Ath<uiian tribesuKUi wi^re landowners. All w(!re nHMrdjers of 
tin; politjeal Assembly, whieh deeid(;d publie fpi(!s1Jons. 

Some elements of aristocracy were left. To hold office, a man had to pos- 
sess enough wealth to belong to one of the three higher classes, and some 
offices were open only to the wealthiest class. But if this Athenian prog- 
ress seems slow to us, we must remember that in nearly all the Ameri- 
can states, for some time after the Revolutionary War, important offices 
and the right to vote were open only to men with property. 

145. Anarchy Renewed. — 'Idn; leforms of Solon did not end 
tlie. li(;re(; strib; of factions, liitter buids followed l)etween tlm 
Plain (w(;alt}iy landowners), the Shore, Oru^rehants), and the 
Mounlam (sh(ii)her<ls and small farm(jrs). Twic(; within ten 
years, disorder prcivented the election of ai-(dions. 



152 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 146 

146. Pisistratus, 560-527. — From such anarchy the city was 
saved by Pisistratus. In 500 b.c.^ tliis noble made himself 
tyrant, by help of the Mountain (the most democratic fac- 
tion). Twice the aristocracy drove him into exile, once for 
ten years. But each time he recovered his power, almost 
without bloodshed, because of the favor of the poorer people. 

His rule was mild and wise. He lived simply, like other 
citizens. He even appeared in a law court, to answer in a suit 
against him. And he always treated the aged Solon (his kins- 
man) with deep respect, despite the latter's bitter opposition 
Indeed, Fisist ratus governed through the foi-ms of Solon's constitu- 
tion,^ and enforced Solon's laws, taking care onli/ to have his men 
friends elected to the chief ojfices. He was more like the " boss" 
of a great political " nuichine " than like a '' tyrant." During 
the last period of his rule, however, he did banish many nobles 
and guarded himself by mercenary soldiers. 

Pisistratus encouraged commerce; enlarged and beautihed 
Athens ; built roads, and an aqueduct to bring a supply of water 
to the city from the hills ; and drew to his court a brilliant circle 
of poets, painters, architects, and sculptors, from all Hellas. 
The first written edition of the Homeric poems is said to have 
been put together under his encouragement. During this same 
time, Anacreon (§ 155) wrote his graceful odes at Athens, and 
Thespis (§ 155) began Greek tragedy at the magnificent festivals 
there instituted to Dionysus (god of wine). The tyrant gave 
new splendor to the public worship, and set up rural festivals 
in various parts of Attica, to make country life more attractive. 
He divided the confiscated estates of banished nobles among 
landless freemen, and thus increased the number of peasant 
landholders. Attica was no longer torn by dissension. 

" Not only was he in every respect humane and mild and ready to for- 
give those who offended, but in addition he advanced money to the poorer 
people to help them in their labors. 

* Two years before Cyrus became kins: of Persia. 

2 Constitution, here and every wliere in early history, means not a written 
docuiueut, as with us, but the geuex*al usages of government in practice. 



§ 148] RISE 01^^ DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 153 

" For the same reason [tn make rural life attractive] he instituted 
local justices, and often made expeditions in person into tlie country 
to inspect it, and to settle disputes between persons, that they nnght not 
come to the city and neglect their farms. It was in one of these prog- 
resses, as the story goes, that Tisistratus had his adventure with the 
man in the district of Ilymettus, who was cultivating the spot afterwards 
known as the 'Tax-free Farm.' He saw a man digging at very stony 
ground with a stake, and sent and asked what he got out of such a plot 
of land. 'Aches and pains,' said the man, 'and out of these Pisistratus 
must get his tenth.' Pisistratus was so pleased with the man's frank 
speech and industry that he granted him exemption from taxes." — 
Akistotlk, Constitution of Athens, 17. 

147. Expulsion of the Son of Pisistratus, 510 B.C. — In .')27, 

Pisistratus was succeeded by his sons Ilippias and Hip])archus. 
Hipparclius, the younger brother, lived an evil life, and in 514 
he was murdered because of a private grudge.^ The rule of 
Hippias had been kindly, but now he grew cruel and suspicious, 
and Athens became ready for revolt. 

CUsthenes, one of a band of exiled nobles, saw his opportunity 
to regain his home. The temple of Apollo at Delphi had just 
been burned, and Clisthenes engaged to rebuild it. He did so 
with great magnificence, using the finest of marble where the 
contract had called only for common limestone. After this, 
whenever the Spartans consulted the oracle, no matter what the 
occasion, they were always ordered by the priestess to ^^Jirst set 
free the Athenians.''^ The Spartans had no quarrel with Hippias ; 
but repeated commands from such a source could not be disre- 
garded. In 510, a reluctant Spartan army, with the Athenian 
exiles, expelled the tyrant. 

148. Vigor of Free Athens. — The Athenians were now in 
confusion again ; but they were stronger than before the rule 
of Pisistratus, and better able to govern themselves. The 
oligarchy strove to regain its ancient control ; but Clisthenes 
wisely threw his strength upon the side of the people, and 
drove out the oligarchs. The Thebans and Euboeans seized 



1 Davis' Readinf/s, Vol. I, No. 53, gives the patriotic soug of Athens that 
commemorated this event. 



154 IIF/LLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 149 

this tiim» of confusiou to invade Attica, from two sides at once; 
but they were routed by a double eui^aij^euient in one day. A 
S[)artan army restored the olii^arehs for a moment, but was 
itself soon besieged in the Acropolis and ca})tured by the 
aroused democracy. 

A ('(Mitury hitcr an Athenian dramatist (Aristophanes, §2'21) portrayed 
the AtluMiian exultation (and hinted some difforonces between Atlienian 
and Spartan lifi') in the I'oUowini; lines : — 

. . . '^ For all his lond lire-eating, 
The old Spartan got a heating, 
And, in sorry plight retreating, 

Left his spear and shield with me. 
Then, with only Ids poor shirt on, 
And who knows what years of dirt on. 
With a bristling bush of beard. 

He slunk away and left us free.'' 

The Athenians had enjoyed little fame in war, ''but now," 
says Aristotle, " they showed that men will light more bravely 
for themselves than for a master.'' Indeed, they were not 
content simply to ilefend themselves. Chalcis in Euboea was 
stormed, and its trade with Thrace (§ 122) fell to Athens. 

Athens noir beffax a new kind of colonization, sending four 
thousand citizens to possess the best land of C-halcis, and to 
serve as a garrison there. These men ret<(i}ie(l full Athenian 
citizenship. T'hey were know^n as cleruchs, or out-settlers. In 
this way Athens found land for her surplus population, and 
fortiiied her inthuMice abroad. 

During these struggles. Clisthenes proposed further reforms in the 
government. The people adopted his proposals, and so made Athens a true 
democracy. (See §§ 149-152.) 

149. There were four main evils for (Misthenes to remedy. 

a. Tlu> constitution of Solon, though a great advance toward 
democracy, had left the (jorernnioit still larijeli/ i)i the hands of 
the rich. The poorest '' class " {n'hich contaitied at least half of 



§ 151] RISE OF DEMOCRACY AT ATHENS 155 

all the citizens) could not hold offio(;; arid tin; Assoinbly had 
not learned how to use its new powers. 

b. The jealousy between tlic; IMain, tlie Shore, and the 
Mountain (§ 145) still caused ^reat (jonfusion. 

c. All v()tii)<^ was by clans ; and thei-c was strong temptation 
for each clan merely to rally around its own chief. 

d. There was a V)itter jealousy between tin? Athenian tribes- 
men (the citizens) and a lar<^<i body of non-citizens. The 
presence of these calls for a further (jxplanation. 

150. The Non-citizen Class. — Solon's reforms had concerned 
tribesmen only. l>ut in the ninety yeai's between Solon and 
Clisthenes, the growing trade of Athens Juul drawn many aliens 
there. These men were enterprising and somc^times wealthy; 
but though they lived in the city, they had no share in it. No 
alien could vote or hold office, or siw in a law court (except 
through the favor of some citizen), or take part in a religious 
festival, or marry an Athenian, or even own land in Attica. 
The city might find it worth while to i>rotect his property, in 
order to attract other strangers; but he iiad no secnire rights. 
Nor coiUd his son, or his sort's son,, or any lat(>r descendant 
acquire any rights merely by continuing to live in, Athens. 

A like condition was found in other Greek cities; but rarely were the 
aliens so large or so wealthy a class as in commercial Athens. Discontent 
might at any moment make them a danger. Clisthenes' plan was to take 
them into the state, and so make them strengthen it. 

151. Geographical Tribes. — Clisthenes began his vmrk by 
marking off Attica into a hundred divisions, called demes. Each 
citizen was enrolled in one of these, and his son after him. 
Membership in a clan had always been the proof of citizenship. 
Now that proof was to be found in this deme-enrollment. 

The hundred demes were distributed among ten " tribes," or 
wards ; but the ten demes of each tribe were not located close 
together. Tliey were scattered as widely as possible, so as to in- 
clude different interests. Voting in the Assembly was no longer 
by the old blood tribes, but by these ten new " territorial " 



156 HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§ 152 

tribes. By this one device, Clistlienes remedied three of the 
four great evils of the time (?>, c, d^ in § 149). 

(1) A clan could no longer act as a unit, since its members 
made parts, perhaps, of several "tribes." So the influence of 
the clan chiefs declined. (2) IVEen of the Shore and of the 
]\lountain often found themselves united in the same tribe, and 
the old factions died out. (o) While Clistlienes was distribut- 
ing citizens among the new geographical units, he seized the 
chance to enroll the )io)(-c(tizenft also in the demes. Thus, fresh, 
progressive influences were again a(lo})ted into Athenian life. 

It must not be supposed, however, that aliens continued to gain ad- 
mission in the future, as with us, by easy naturalization. The act of 
Clisthenes applied only to those then in Athens, and to their descendants. In 
a few years another alien class grew up, with all the old disadvantages. 

152. The Assembly kept its old powers, and gained new oiu^s. 
It began to deal with foreign affairs, taxation, and the details 
of campaigns. It no longer conflned itself to proposals from 
the " Council of Five Hundred " (the new name for the Senate). 
Any citizen could move amendments or introduce new business. 
The Assembly now elected ten ^'generals'' yearly, who took 
over most of the old authority of the archons. 

These new arrangements corrected much of the first evil 
noted in § 149. The ^'fourth class " of citizens was still not 
eligible to office. Otherwise, Athens had become a democracy. 
To be sure, it took some time for the Assembly to realize its 
full power and to learn how to control its various agents ; but 
its rise to supreme authority was now only a nuitter of natural 
growth. 

Solon and Clisthenes were the two men who stood foremost in the 
great work of putting government into the hands of the people. The 
struggle in which they were champions is essentially the same contest 
that is going on to-day. The student will have little difficulty in select- 
ing names, in America and in European countries, to put in the list which 
should be headed with the names of these two Athenians. 



§ ir,4| ART, I^OKTRY, PIIILOSOPllY 157 

153. Ostracism. — One, ixiculiur device, of CliKthones donervcis mention. 
It was called nsfrdcLsni, and it was dcisij^iuid to iuiad olT civil Ktrife. Once 
a year the AssiMnbly was ^iven a chance to vote by ballot (on i)ieces of 
pottery, "Qstraka''), each one at-ainst any man whom he deemed dan- 
gerous to the state. If six thousand citiz(!iis thouf^ht that soma one ought 
to go into exile for th(! safety of the state, then that man had to go agdinut 
wJiom the largest number of the six thousand votes were cast. Such exile 
w:is fi'lt to be j)('rf(H3tly honorable ; and when a man came back from it, he 
took at once his old placi; in the public regard. 

KXKIU^IHK: Ql.ICHTlONM ON TIIIC («0 V KKN M KNT. FoV the EupatVld (JOV- 

eriiinciit. — 1. What repn^sentcd the monai'chic (;l(Mn(Mit of Homer's 
time? 2. What the aristocratic ■' :J. What the d(;mocratic V 4. VVhi(;h 
elciiKMit had mad(! a decid(!d gain in jiowcsr •* 5. Which had hrst most i' 
<», Whic^h of tlie three was h^ast important'* 7. Which most important? 

For /.he (jovernment after Solon. — I . What was tlu; basis of citlz(Mishii) ? 
2. What was th(^ ])asis for distribution of power among the citiz(MJS? 
;{. Was the introduction of tin? Senate a gain for the aristocratic or demo- 
cratic element l* 4. What i)owers did the Assenibly gain ? 5. Which 
two of these powers enabled the Asseinbly to control the administration ? 

Students should be able to answer similar questions on the government 
after Clisthenes' reforms. It would be a good exercise for the class to 
make out questions tluMuselves. 

VI. INTELLECTUAL DKVKLOPMENT 

154. Architecture, painting, and sculpture had not reached 

full l)l(K)]u ill the sixth centiiry, hut tlu^y liad begun to show a 
eliaracter distinct from Oriental art. Their cliief centers in 
this period were Miletus and Eidiesiis (in Ionia) and Athens. 
Architecture was more advanced than painting or sculpture. 
It found its best development, not in palaces, as in tin; old 
Cretan civilization, but in the temi)les of the gods. In every 
Greek city, the temphis were the most beautiful and the most 
prominent structures. 

The plan of the Greek temple was very simple. People did 
not gather within the building ^'or service, as in our churches. 
They only brought offerings there. The incloscMl jijirt of tlie 
building, therefore, was small and rather dark, — containing 
only one or two rooms, for the statues of the god and the altar 



158 



HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. 



[§154 



and the safe-keepini^ of the offerings. It was merely the god's 
house, where people could visit hiui when they wished to ask 
favors. 

In shape, the temple was rectangular. The roof projected 
beyond the inclosed part of the building, and was supported 
not by the walls, but by a row of columns running around the 
four sides. The gables (pediments) in front and rear were low, 
and were filled with statuary, as was also the frieze, between 
the cornice and the columns. Sometimes there was a second 
frieze upon the walls of the building inside the colonnade. 



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Ground Plan of the Tkmple of Thkskus at Athens. 



The building took much of its beauty from its colonnades ; 
and the chiefdijfereiwes in the sti/les of architect ii re were marked 
hij the cohimns and their caj)itals. According to differences in 
these features, a building is said to belong to the Doric, Ionic, 
or Corinthia)t, "order." 

In the Doric order the column has 7W base oi its own, but rests 
directly upon the foundation from which the walls rise. The 
shaft is grooved lengthwise with some twenty flutings. The 
capital is severely simple, consisting of a circular band of stone, 
swelling up from the shaft, capped by a square block, without 
ornament. Upon the capitals rests a plain band of massive 
stones {the architrarc), and above this is the frieze, which sup- 
ports the roof. The frieze is divided at equal spaces by tri- 



§ 155] 



ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 



159 




Ionic Oudk 



gl'iphs, a series of three projecting flutings; and 
the spaces between the triglyphs are tilknl with 
sculpture. 

The Doric style is the simplest of the three 
orders. It is almost austere in its plainness, giv- 
ing a sense of self-controlled 
power and repose. Some- 
times it is called a masculine 
style, in contrast with the 
more ornate and feminine 
character of the Ionic order. 
"The Ionic order came into 
general use later. In this 
style, the column has a base 
arranged in three expanding 
circles. The shaft is more 
slender than the Doric. The 
swelling bell of the capital 
is often noblfj carved, and it 
is surmounted by two spiral 
rolls. The frieze has no tri- 
(jli/phs: the sculpture upon 
it is one continuous band. 




Corinthian 
Order. 



The Corinthian order is a later 
development and does not belong 
to the period we are now consid- 
ering. It resembles the Ionian ; 
but the capital is taller, lacks 
the spirals, and is more highly 
ornamented, with forms of leaves 
or animals. For illustrations of 
the Doric and Ionic orders, see also pages 158, 150, and 
especially page 212. For the Corinthian, see page 47G. 

155. Poetry. — In poetry there was more prog- 
ress even than in architecture. The earliest Greek 
poetry had been made up of ballads, celebrating 



Douio Column. — From 
the Temple of Theseus 
at Athens. 

1, tlie shaft; 2, the capital; 
3, the frieze ; 4, coniiee ; 
5, part of roof, sliowiiig the 
low slope. 



160 



HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. 



[§155 



wars and heroes. These ballads were stories in verse, sung by- 
wandering minstrels. The greatest of such compositions rose 
to epic poetrj/, of which the Iliad and Odyssey are the noblest 
examples. Their period is called the Ejnc Age. 

In the seventh and sixth centuries, most poetry consisted of 
odes and songs in a great variety of meters, — corresponding to 

the more varied life 
of the time. Love and 
pleasure are the favor- 
ite themes, and the 
poems describe feel- 
ings rather than out- 
ward events. They 
were intended to be 
sH)\g to the accom- 
paniment of the lyre 
(a sort of harp). They 
are therefore called 
lyrics ; and the sev- 
enth and sixth cen- 
turies are known as 
the Lyric Age. 

It is possible to 
name here only a few 
of the many famous 
lyric poets of that 
age. Sapplw, of Lesbos, wrote exquisite and melodious love 
songs, of which a few fragments survive. Her lover Alcaeus 
(another Lesbian poet) described her as " Pure Sappho, violet 
tressed, softly smiling." The ancients were wont to call her 
"the poetess,'' just as they referred to Homer as "the poet." 
Simonides wrote odes to arouse Hellenic patriotism ; Aiiacreon 
has been spoken of in connection with the brilliant court of 
Pisistratus. Tyrtaens, an Attic war-poet, wrote chiefly for the 
Spartans, and became one of their generals. Corinna was a 
woman poet of Boeotia. Pindar, the greatest of the lyric poets, 




A DoKK^ Capital. — From a i>liot»)graph of a de- 
tail of the Parthenon. See § 219 for the date 
and history. 



§156] ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY IGl 

came from the same district. He delighted especially to cele- 
brate the rushing chariots and glorious athletes of the Olympic 
ganu3S. 

Two other great poets, representing another kind of poetry, 
belong to this same period. Ilesiod of r)Oeotia lived about 
800 B.C. He wove together into a long poem old stories of 
the creation and of the birth and relationship of the gods. 
This Theogony of Hesiod was the most important single work 
in early Greek literature, after the Homeric poems. Hesiod 
wrote also remarkable home-like poems on farm life (Works 
and Days).''- The other writer was Tlicspis, who began dratiiatic 
poetry (plays) at Athens, under the patronage of Pisistratus. 

156. Philosophy. — Fn the sixth century, too, Greek phi- 
losophy was born. Its home was in Ionia. There hrst the 
Greek mind set out to explain the origin of things. Tholes of 
Miletus, "father of Greek philosophy," taught that all things 
came from Water, or moisture. His pupil Anaximenes called 
Air, not Water, the universal " hrst principle." Pythagoras 
(born at Samos, but teaching in Magna Graecia) sought the 
fundamental principle, not in any kind of matter, but in 
Number, or Harmony. Xenophanes of Ionia affirmed that the 
only real existence was that of God, one and changeless — 
" not in body like unto mortals, nor in mind." The clianging 
world, he said, did not really exist : it was only a decei)tion of 
men's senses. Heracleitus of Ephesus, on the other hand, held 
that " ceaseless change " was the very princii)le of things : the 
world, he taught, had evolved from a hery ether, and was in 
constant flux. 

Some of these explanations of the universe seem child- 
ish to us. They may represent honest attempts of men 
who had lost the primitive revelation. They do not in 
any way approach Christian philosophy. This early philos- 
ophy, however, was closely related to early science. Thales 

1 This was really a textbook on farminff, — the first textbook in Europe. 
Hesiod wrote it in verse, because prose writinj; in his day was unknown. The 
earliest composition of any people is usually in meter. 



162 



HELLAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. 



[§157 



was the first Greek to foretell eclipses. (He could predict the 
period, but not the precise day or hour.) Those who laughed 
at philosophers, liked to tell of him that, while gazing at the 
heavens, he fell into a well. He may have obtained his knowl- 
edge of astronomy from Egypt, which countr}^ we know he 
visited (§ 32). Anaximander, another philosopher of JMiletus, 



• tn 




^%>»5 ,-<:^:> .^-v« n -fn^^-s^-r^ri-- • , ., _ . ^^ >•» . 



West Front of the Parthenon to-day. Doric style. See § 219. 

made maps and globes. The Pythagoreans naturally paid 
special attention to mathematics and especially to geometry ; 
and to P^^thagoras is ascribed the famous demonstration about 
the square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle. 

The Pythagoreans connected " philosophy " particularly with 
conduct. The harmony in the outer world, they held, must 
be matched by a harmony in the soul of man. Indeed, all these 
sages taught lofty moral truths. (See Davis' Eeadings, Vol. I, 
No. 98.) Greek philosophy lifted itself far above the moral 
level of Greek religion. 

157. Summary of the Five Centuries. — During the five cen- 
turies from 1000 to 500 b.c, the Hellenes had come to think 
of themselves as one people (though. not as one nation), and 



157] 



ART, POETRY, PHILOSOPHY 



103 



had developed a brilliant, jostling society. During more than 
half the period they had been busy sowing Hellenic cities 
broadcast along even the distant Mediterranean shores. They 
had found a capable military leadership in Sparta, Tlioy had 
everywhere rid themselves of the old monarchic rule, by a 




Wkst Fkont of Temple of Victory at Athens. — From tlio ruins to-day. 
Ionic stylo. See § 218. 

long series of changes ; and, in Athens in particular, they had 
gone far toward creating a true democracy. They had ex- 
perienced an artistic and intellectual development vjhich made 
their civUizafion in 7iiany regards nobler and more promising 
than any the world had yet seen. Moreover, this civilization v'as 
to he part of our own. The remains of Egyptian or Babylonian 
sculpture and architecture arouse our admiration and interest 
as curiosities ; but they are foreign to us. With the remains 
of a Greek temple, or a fragment of a Greek poem, of the 
year 500, we feel at home. It might have been built, or ivritten, 
by our own j^eople. 



164 



HELLAS FROM UX)0 TO r>0{) B.C. 



[§ ir>s 



158. The following table of dates shows tho oonvspoiuloiioo in thue 
of h>ailing events in the Oriental anil the tireek world down to the period 
when the two worlds eonie into ehise relations. Down to about 800, dates 
are mostly estimates (§ ol). TTiis tahh is not (jivoi to Iw memorized, but 
merely to be read and referred to. 



IIkllas 



8500 Kisiuij; .Vegeau " Ni>w Stone 
eulture 



'J500 Hronze culture in (^rete and 
other Ae.i;i>an eentiM's 

2500 or '2m) Destructi^Hi of Sehlie- 
manu's "Troy " (^the "Sec- 



ond City ") 



2000 (?) " Minos of Crete 



1()00 riuHMiii'lans in the Aeixean 
1500-1200 Achaean conijuest^s 
loOO Destruction of Kuossos 



1800 Destructiot\ of Mycenae 
1200 DestructiiMi of Homer's 

" 'Vroy " (the *' Sixth 

City") 
1100 Homeric l\>ems 



oOtX) 



400 



2800 



The East 

Keconls of advanced Rron/.e 
cultures in valleys of Nile 
and Euphrates 

2100 "OKI Kiuiidom" in 
l\i:ypt, centered at Mem- 
phis ; Menes ; Cheops ; 
pyramids 

Sarj^on : empire from Eu- 
l^hrates to Minlitcrrancan 



2400-20(Xl "Middle Kini^dom'' in 
Eijypt, centered at Thebes : 
Lake Moeris ; Ked Sea 
canal ; commerce with Crete 

22;U Beuinnin^ of recorded astnv 
nomical observations at 
Babylon (§ 40) 

2(H>0 Abraham emigrates from Ur 

2000-l(!00 Euyptian Decline : Hyk- 
sos : Ih^brews iMiter Egypt 

1017 {'?) llamuuirabi: " First Bab- 
ylonian " Empire; vohmii- 
nous ctmeiform littM-ature 

l(>00-lo;>0 "New Eminrc"" in 
Egypt 

1475 Egyptian brief conquest of the 
East : jit'st union of the 
Oriental icorhi 

lo20 Hebrew exodus 



1100 Beginning-s of Assyrian Em- 
pire — Tiglath-rileser I 



1581 



HELLAS AND THE EAST 



165 



Hellas (continued) 

1000 Dorian coiniuests 
})00 llise of Sparta 
000-800 Ionian colonization 
800-050 Greek colonization 

Mediterranean coasts 
770 First recorded Olympiad 

700-500 " Age of Tyrants" 



of 



050-500 "Lyric Age" 



504-503 Solon's reforms 
500-527 Pisistratus 
510 Expulsion of Tyrants from 
Athens 



The East (continued) 

1055-075 David and Solomon 
1000 (?) Zoroaster 

850 (?) Carthage bounded 



745 
722 
072 
053 



050 
(J30 
025 



55() 
558 



True Assyrian Empire — Tig- 
lath-Pileser II 

Sargon carries the Ten Tribes 
of Israel into captivity 

Assyria concjuers Egypt : sec- 
ond union of Oriental icorld 
-625 Last p(>riod of Egyptian 
indept'ndence — open to 
Greeks; visits by Solon and 
Thales ; circumnavigation 
of Africa 

(?) First coinage, in Lydia 

Scythian ravages 
-538 Second Babylonian Em- 
pire : Babylonian captivity 
of the Jews 

Croesus, king in Lydia 
-520 Cyrus the Great founds 
Persian Empire — third un- 
ion of the Oriental World 



500 Ionian Revolt (§§ 104, 105) 
(Eastern and Western civilizations in conflict) 



For Further Keading. — Specially suggested: (1) Davis' Head- 
ings, Vol. I, Nos. 40-5(5. These very nearly fit in with the order of 
treatment in this book, and several numbers have been referred to in 
footnotes. It is desirable for students each day to consult the Head- 
ings, to see whether they can find there more light on the lesson in this 
book. 

(2) Bury (on colonization), 80-100, 110-117 ; (on Sparta), 120-134; 
(on '' Lycurgus'^), 134-135; (on certain tyrants), 140-155; {oracles 
and festivals), 169-101 ; (work of Solon), 180-180. 



IGG IIKl.LAS FROM 1000 TO 500 B.C. [§158 

ExicnnsK. — I)ist.iii,i;uisl» bctwoon f^pa rt a ixnd Lnconia. How did the 
n^lation of llwhcs l.o Bocotla dilier from that of Sparta to Lafoiiial' 
Winch of thtisd two relations was most like tliat of Athens to Attica 9 
Have you any buihlinj!;s in your city in wiucli (Jrcek cohinnis arc used 1' 
Of wliich order, ;n each case i* (Take several leading buildings in a large 
town.) Explain tiic following terms : C(mstitution ; Helot ; Eupatrid ; 
tyrant ; Lycurgus ; Clisthenes ; Areopagus ; archoii ; deme ; clan ; tribe ; 
a, " tribe of Clisthenes." 

(To explain a term, in such an exercise, is to make such statemcMits 
concerning it as will at least prevent the term being confused with any 
other. Thus if the term is Solon, it will not do to say, " A Oreek law- 
giver," or " A lawgiver of the sixth century n.c." The answer must at 
least say, " An Athenian lawgiver of about (KM) n.o." ; and it ou</lit to say, 
" An Athenian hiwgiver and democratic reformer of about 000 b.c." 
lOitlier oi the lirst two answers is worth ::ero.) 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PERSIAN WARS 

We have now reached a point where the details of Greek 
history are better known, and where a more connected story is 
possible. This story begins with the Persian Wars. 

Til 10 TWO ANTAGONISTS 

159. Persia. — In §§ fJ9-77, wc saw how — within a tirno 
no long(ir tlian an average human life — Persia had strotclied 
its rule over the territory of all former Oriental enjj>ires, 
besides adding vast regions before unknown. Py 500 jj.o. 
(the period to which we liave just carried Greek history), 
Persia reached into the peninsula of Ilindoostan in Asia, 
and, across Thrace, up to the Greek peninsula in Europe 
(map, after page 84). On tliis westc^rn frontier lay the scat- 
tered groiif)S of (jlreek cities, bustling and energetic, but sinall 
and disunited. The mitjhty world-ewpire now advanrj'.d ron- 
Jidently to add fheae liUUi communitie.H to its dondnions. 

Persia, in many ways, was the noblest of the Asiatic empires ; but 
its civilization was distinctly Oriental (with the general character that 
has been noted in §§ 8o ff.). The Greek cities, between looo and 500 B.C., 
had created a wholly different sort of culture, which we call European, 
or Western (§§ 82, 86). East and West now joined battle. The Persian 
attack upon Greece began a contest between two worlds, which has gone 
on, at times, ever since, - with the present '' Eastern Question " and our 
Philippine question for latest chapters. 

160. Three sections of Hellas were prominent in power and 
culture: the Earo/x^au panuisula^ which we commonly call 
Greece; Asiatic Jlellas, with its coast islands; and JSicih/ and 
Mofjua Graecia C§ 122). Elsewhere, the cities were too scat- 
tered, or too small, or too busy with tlieir own deferjse against 

107 



168 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ IGl 

surrounding savages, to count for niucli in the approaching 
contest. Asiatic Hellas fell easily to Persia before the real 
struggle began. Then the two other sections were attacked 
simultaneously, Greece by Persia, Sicily by Carthage. 

Carthage was a Phoenician colony on the north coast of 
Africa (see map after page 132). It had built up a consider- 
able empire in the western Mediterranean ; and, in Sicily, it 
had already, from time to time, come into conflict with Greek 
colonies. Sicily was an important point from which to (umtrol 
Mediterranean trade. Carthage now made a determined at- 
tempt to drive out her rivals there. 

The Greeks believed that the Persian king urged (Carthage 
to take this time for attack, so that Magna Graecia and Sicily 
might not be able to join the other Greeks in resisting the 
main attack from Persia. At all events, such was the result. 
The Greek cities in Sicily and Italy were ruled by tyrants. 
These rulers united under Gelon of Syracuse, and repelled 
the Carthaginian onset. But the struggle kept the Western 
Greeks from heJj)ing their kinsmen wjainst the Persians. 

161. Conditions in Greece itself at this critical moment were 
unpromising. The forces that could be mustered against the 
master of the world were small at best; but just now they 
were further divided and wasted in internal struggles. Athens 
was at war with Aegina and with Thebes ; Sparta had re- 
newed an ancient strife with Argos (§ 9G), and had crippled 
her for a generation by slaying in one battle ahuost the whole 
body of adult Argives.^ Phocis was engaged in war with 
Thessalians on one side and Boeotians on the other. Worse 
than all this, many cities were torn by cruel class strife at 

1 The old men and boys, however, were still able to defend Argos itself 
against Spartan attack. This tonches an important fact in Greek war- 
fare: a ivalled city could hardly be taken by assault; it could fall only 
through extreme carelessness, or by treachery, or starvation. The last 
danger did not often exist. The armies of the besiegers were made up of 
citizens, not of paid troops; and they could not keep the field lo>ic/ themselves. 
They were needed at home, and it was not easy for them to secure food for a 
long siege. 



102] 



THE ANTAGONISTS 



169 



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1m,-,s, . s 



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w ^ 



\,A 



1 



' btatcB dependent O 
1111011 Sparta. 
iStaten in alliance 
ntli Sparta. 



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home, — oligarchs against democrats. One favorable condition, 
however, calls f(jr attention (§ 1G2). 

162. The Peloponnesian League. — In a sense, Sparta was the 
head of Greece. She lacked the enterprise and daring that 
were to make Athens the city of the coming century ; but her 
government was 
firm, her army was 
large and disci- 
plined, and so far 
she had shown 
more genius than 
any other Greek 
state in organizing 
her neighbors into 
a military league. 
Two fifths of the 
Peloponnesus she 
ruled directly (La- 
conia and Mes- 
senia), and the 
rest (except Argo- 

lis and Achaea) formed a confederacy for war, with Sparta as 
the head. 

It is true the union was very slight. On special occasions, 
at the call of Sparta, the states sent delegates to a conference 
to discuss peace or war ; but there was no constitution, no 
common treasury, not even a general treaty to bind the states 
together. Indeed, one city of the league sometimes made war 
upon another. Each state was bound to Sparta by its special 
treaty ; and, if Sparta was attacked by an enemy, each city of 
the " league " was expected to maintain a certain number of 
troops for the confederate army. Loose as this Peloponnesian 
league was, it was the greatest war power in Hellas ; a7id it 
seemed the one ralhjing point for disunited Greece in the coming 
struggle (§ 130, close). Except for the presence of this war 
power, few other Greeks would have dared to resist Persia at all. 



SCALE OF MILES 
1^ 6 10 20 ■■i'O 40 50 



THE PKIiOl'ONNKSIAN LKAGUE 
(500 B.C.) 



170 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§103 

OTENTNG OF THE STKUGGLE IN IONIA 

163. Conquest of the Ionian Greeks. — For two ec^nturies before 
500 H.c, the Asiatic Hellenes excelled all other branches of 
the Greek race in culture. Unfortunately for them, the em- 
pire of Lydia arose near them. Tliat great state was un- 
willing to be shut off from the Aegean by the Greek cities, 
and it set out to conquer them. For some time, the little Greek 
states kept their independence ; but when the energetic Croesus 
(§ 70) became king of Lydia, he subdued all the cities on the 
coast of Asia Minor. Croesus, however, was a warm admirer 
of the Greeks, and his rule over them was gentle. They were 
expected to acknowledge him as tluMr over-lord and to jjay a 
snuxU tribute in money ; but they were left to manage their own 
affairs at home, and were favored in many ways. 

When ('yrus the Persian attacked Croesus (^ 72), the 
Asiatic Greeks fought gallantly for Lydia. After the over- 
throw of Croesus, they tried to come to terms with Cyrus. 
Cyrus was angry because they liad refused his invitations 
to join him in the war, and he would make them no promises. 
Fearing severe punishment, they made a brief struggle for 
independence. They applied, in vain, to Sparta for aid. Then 
Thales (§ 150) suggested a federation of all Ionia, with one gov- 
ernment and one army ; but the Greeks could not rise to so wise 
a plan (cf. § 104). So the Ionian cities fell, one by one, before 
the arms of C'yrus; and under Persian despotism their old 
leadership in civilization soon vanished. 

164. The "Ionian Revolt," 500 bc. — The Persian conquest 
took i)lace about 540 n.c. IVfore that time the lonians had 
begun to get rid of tyrants. But the Persians set up a tyrant 
again in each city, as the easiest means of control. (This 
shows something of what would have happened in Greece itself, 
if Persia had won in the approaching war.) Each tyrant knew 
that he could keep his power only by Persian support. 

In the year 500, by a general rising, the lonians deposed 
their tyrants once more, formed an alliance with one another, 



§165] THE FIRST ATTACK 171 

and broke into revolt against l*(M-sia. Another appeal to 
Sparta^ for h(jlp proved fruitless; but Athens sent twcaity 
ships, and little Eretria sent five. " 'I'hese ships,'' says Ilercjd- 
otus, "were the beginnings of woes, b(jth to the Greeks and to 
the barbarians." 

At first the lonians and their allies were successful. They 
even took Sardis, the old capital of Lydia, far in the interior. 
But treachery and mntual suspicion were rampant; Persian 
gold was used skillfully ; and one defeat broke up the loose 
Ionian league. Then the cities were again subdued, one by 
one, in the five years following. 

FIRST TWO ATTACKS UPON THE EUROPEAN GREEKS 

(402-1 !K) B.C.) 

165. What was the relation of the Ionian Revolt to the Persian 
invasion of Greece? Acjcording to h^gend, tlie I^^rsian king 
attacked Greece to punish Athens for sending aid to the 
Ionian rebels. Herodotus says that Darius (§ 76) was so 
angered by the sack of Sardis that, during the rest of his 
life, he had a herald cry out to him thrice each day at dinner, 
— "OKing, remember the Athenians!" This story has the 
appearance of a later invention, to flatter Athenian vanity. 
Probably Athens was pointed out for special vengeance, by her 
aid to Ionia ; hut the Pemian invasion would have come, anyuKiy, 
and it would have come some years sooner, had not thci war in 
Ionia kept the Persians busy. 

The expanding frontier of the Persian empire had reached 

1 The story of the appeal to Sparta is told pleasantly by Herodotus (ex- 
tract in Davis' Readinr/s, Vol. I, No. .57). It sliould be made a topic for a 
special report by some student to the class. (This seems a {<ood i)lace to call the 
attention of teachers to one feature of the present textbook. The story just 
referred to mij^ht easily be put into tlie text ; but it would take up much space ; 
and though interesting, it has little historical value. At least, it is in no way 
essential for understandinj^ the rest of th<! history. More important still, — 
any student who has Herodotus accessible can tell the story as w(dl as this 
book could do it. This is the kind of outside readirifj that any student likes 
to do, and a kind that any student isperfcj-tly able to do.) 



172 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§166 

Thessaly just before 500 e.g., and the same motives that had 
carried Persian arms through Thrace and Macedonia would 
have carried them on into Greece. Persia was still in full 
career of conquest. The Greek peninsula was small ; but its 
cities were becoming wealthy, and Persia coveted them for 
their ships and their trade. The i^eal significance of the Ionian 
war ivas that it helped to delay the main Persian onset until the 
Greeks were better prepared. Tlie Athenians had been wise, as 
icell as generous, in aiding the lonians. 

166. First Expedition against Greece, 492 B.C. Mount Athos. — 
Immediately after the end of the Ionian revolt Darius began 
vast preparations for the invasion of Greece. A mighty army 
was gathered at the Hellespont under Mardonius, son-in-law of 
the king; and a large fleet was collected. This was to sail 
along the coast, in constant touch with the army, and furnish 
it, day by day, with provisions and other supplies. In 492, 
these forces set out, advancing along the shores of the Aegean. 
But the army suffered from constant attacks by the savage 
Thracian tribes ; and finally, as the fleet was rounding the rocky 
promontory of Mount Athos, a terrible storm dashed it to 
pieces. With it were wrecked all hopes of success. Mardonius 
had no choice but to retreat into Asia. 

167. Second Expedition, 490 B.C. Marathon. — This failure 
filled Darius with wrath. Such a check in an expedition 
against the petty Greek states was wholly unexpected. Mar- 
donius, though an able general, was disgraced, and preparations 
were begun for a new expedition. 

Meantime, in 491, heralds were sent to all the Greek cities 
to demand " earth and water," in token of submission. The 
islands in the Aegean yielded at once. In continental Greece 
the demand was in general quietly refused ; but, in Athens and 
Sparta, indignation ran so high that even the sacred character 
of ambassadors did not save the messengers. At Athens they 
were thrown into a pit, and at Sparta into a well, and told to 
" take thence what they wanted." 

In the spring of 490, the Persians were ready for the second 



§ 167] THE SECOND ATTACK 173 

expedition. This time, taking warning from the disaster at 
Mount Athos, the troops were embarked on a mighty fleet, 
which proceeded directly across the Aegean. Stopping only 
to receive the submission of certain islands by the way, the 
fleet reached the island of Euboea without a check. 

There Eretria (§ 164) was captured, through treachery. The 
city was destroyed, and most of the people were sent in chains 
to Persia. Then the Persians landed on the plain of Marathon 
in Attica, to punish Athens. Hippias, the exiled tyrant 
(§ 147), was with the invaders, hoping to get back his throne 
as a servant of Persia ; and he had pointed out this admirable 
place for disembarking the Persian cavalry. 

At first most of the Athenians wished to fight only behind 
their walls. Sooner or later, this must have resulted in ruin, 
especially as there were some traitors within the city hoping 
to admit Hippias. Happily Miltiades, one of the ten Generals 
(§ 152), persuaded the commanders to march out and attack 
the Persians at once.^ 

From the rising ground where the hills of Mount Pentelicus 
meet the plain, the ten thousand Athenian hoplites faced the 
Persian host for the first struggle between Greeks and Asiatics 
on European ground. Sparta had promised aid ; and, at the 
first news of the Persian approach, a swift runner (Phidippi- 
des) had raced the hundred and fifty miles of rugged hill 
country to implore Sparta to hasten. He reached Sparta on 
the second day ; but the Spartans waited a week, on the ground 
that an old law forbade them to set out on a military expedi- 
tion before the full moon. The Athenians felt bitterly that 
Sparta was ready to look on, not unwillingly, while the 
"second city in Greece" was destroyed. 

At all events, Athens was left to save herself (and our 
Western world) as best she could, with help from only one city. 
This was heroic little Plataea, in Boeotia, near by. Athens 
had sometimes protected the democratic government of that 

1 This story should be read in Herodotus, or, even better in some ways, 
in the extracts in Davis' Readings, with Dr. Davis' admirable introductions. 



174 



THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS 



[§ 167 



city from attack by the powerful oligarchs of Thebes. The 
Plataeans remembered this gratefully, and, on the eve of 
the battle, marched into the Athenian camp with their full 
force of a thousand hoplites. Then Athenians and Phitaeans 
won a marvckius victory over perhaps ten times their number^ 
of the most famous sokliery in the world. The result was due 
to the generalship of ^Miltiades, and to the superior equipment 
of the Greek hoplite. 

Miltiades drew out his front as thin as he dared, to prevent 
the long Persian front from overlapping and '' Hanking '' liim. 

To accomplish this, he 
weakened his center dar- 
ingly, so as to mass all the 
me)i he contd spare from 
there in the icings. He 
meant these wings to bear 
the brunt of battle, and 
ordered them to advance 
more rapidly than the thin 
center. Then he moved 
his forces down the slope 
toward the Persian lines. 
AVhile yet an arrow's llight distant, the advancing Greeks broke 
into a run, according to ^liltiades' orders, so as to cover the rest 
of the ground before the Persian archers could get in their 
deadly work. Once at close quarters, the heavy weapons of 
the Greeks gave them overwhelming advantage. Their dense, 
heavy array, charging with long, outstretched spears, by its 
sheer weight broke the light-armed Persian lines, which were 



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M 11 I 


lum 




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Plan of Makaihdn. CL innp, pauo 184. 



1 The figures, on the next page, for the slain, are probably trustworthy ; but 
all numbers given for the Persian army, in this tn- other eampaigns, are 
guesses. Aneient historians put the Persians at INIarathou at from a quarter 
to half a million. Modern scholars are sure that no ancient tleet eouhi possi- 
bly carry any considerable part of such a force, — and, indeed, it is clear that 
the ancient auth(»rities had no basis for their tigures. Modern guesses — 
they are nothing better — put the Persian force at ^Marathon all the way from 
100,000 down to U0,000. 



§ H>7] 



THE SECOND ATTACK 



175 



utterly unprepared for conflict on such terms. The Persians 
fought galhintly, as usual; but their darts and light scimetars 
made little imi)ression upon the heavy bronze armor of the 
Greeks, while their linen tunics and wicker shields counted for 
little against the thrust of the Greek spear. For a time, it 
is true, the Greek center had to give ground ; but the two 




Marathon To-day. — From a photitgrai)!!. The camera stooil a little above 
the Athenian eainp in the Plan on the opposite iMige. That eaiup was in 
the first open spaee in the forej;round, where the poplar trees are scattered. 
The land h(>yond the strip of water is the narrow peninsula running out 
from the " Marsh " in tlu^ IMan. 



wings, having routed the forces in front of them, wheeled 
upon the Persian center, crusliing upon both flanks at the 
same moment, and drove it in disorder to the ships. One 
hundred ninety-two Athenians fctl. The Persians left over 
sixty-four hundred dead upon the held. 

The Athenians tried also to seize the fleet; but here they 
■were repulsed. The 1 Persians embarked and sailed safely away. 
They took a course that might lead to Athens. Moreover, the 



176 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ 168 

Greek army had just seen ami-signals tiashing to the enemy 
from some traitor's shieUl in the distant mountains ; and ^lil- 
tiades feared them to be an invitation to attaek the eity in the 
absence of the army. To cheek such plots, he sent the runner 
riiidi])pides to announce the victory to Athens. Already ex- 
hausted by the battle, Phidippides put forth supreme effort, 
raced the twenty-two miles of mountain road from ^larathon, 
shouted exultantly to the eager, anxious crowds, — " Ours the 
victory," — and fell dead.^ 

Meanwhile Miltiades was hurrying the rest of his wearied 
aruiy, without rest, over the same road. Fortunately the 
Persian fleet had to sail around a long promontory (map, 
page 180), and when it a[>peare(l off Athens, the next morn- 
ing, IMiltiades and his hoplites had arrived also. The 
Persians did not care to face again the men of ^larathon ; 
and the same day they set sail for Asia.- 

168. Importance of Marathon. — ]\Ierely as a military event 
"Marathon is an unimportant skirmish ; but, in its results u])()n 
human welfare, it is auiong the few really "decisive" battles 
of the world. Whether Egyptian con(puM-ed Pabylonian, or 
Babylonian conquered Egyptian, mattered little in the long run. 
Possibly, whether Si)artan or Athenian i)revailed over the 
other mattered not much more. Put it did matter whether 
or not the huge, incu't EiOit should crush the ninv life out of 
the West, ^larathon decided that the West should live on. 

For the Athenians themselves, IVlarathon began a new era. 
Natural as the victory came to seem in later times, it took high 
courage on that day to stand before the hitherto uncontpuM-inl 
Persians, even without such tremendous odds. "The Athe- 
nians,'^ says Herodotus, " were the first of the Greeks to face 

iThe student will like to read, or to hear read, Browninjj^'s pt)ein. Phvidlp- 
piih's, with the story of both runs by this Greek hero. Ct)nipare this slory 
with Herodotus' aee(UuU in Davis' licadini/s, Vol. I, No. .li). The lanums 
run fron\ the battletieUl to the I'ity is the basis of the modern " INIaratliou " 
raee, in whii'h I'hanipiou atliletes of all eountries compete. 

'-The full story of this battle should be read as Herodotus tells it. It is 
given in Davis' lictnliti;/s, \'ol. I, Nos. ^it, (JO. 



§ 169] AN INTERVAL OF PREPARATION 177 

the Median jj^arments, . . . whereas iq) to tliis time the very 
name of Mede [Persian] had been a terror to the Hellenes." 
Athens broke the spell for the rest of Greece, and grew herself to 
heroic stature in an hour. The sons of the men who conquered 
on that field could find no odds too crushing, no prize too 
dazzling, in the years to come. It was now that the Athenian 
character first showed itself as Thucydides described it a century 
later : " The Athenians are the only people who succeed to 
the full extent of their hope, because thei/ throw themselves with- 
out reserve into whatever they resolve to do.^'' 

ATHENS — FROM MARATHON TO THERMOPYLAE 

169. Internal Faction Crushed. — Soon after Marathon, Egypt 
revolted against Persia. Tliis gave the Greeks ten years more for 
preparation ; but, except in Athens, little use was made of the 
interval. In that city the democratic forces grew stronger 
and more united, while the oligarchs were weakened. 

One incident in this change was the ruin of Miltiades, the 
hero of Marathon. Miltiades was originally an Athenian noble 
who had made himself tyrant of Chersonesus (map after 
page 94). Not long before the Persian invasion, he had 
brought upon himself the hatred of the Great King,^ and had 
fled back to Athens. Here he became at once a prominent 
supporter of the oligarchic party. The democrats tried to 
prosecute him for his i)revious "tyranny"; but the attempt 
failed, and when the Persian invasion came, the Athenians 
were fortunate in having his experience and ability to guide 
them. Soon after Marathon, however, Miltiades failed in an 
expedition against Paros, into which he had persuaded the 
Athenians ; and then the hostile democracy secured his 
overthrow. He was condemned to pay an immense fine, and 
is said to have died soon afterward in prison. 

Tliis bloiv was follotved by the ostracism of some oligarchic 
leader each season for several years, until that party was utterly 

1 Report the story from Herodotus, if a translation is accessible. 



178 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§170 

broken. Thus Athens was saved from its most serious inter- 
nal dissension. 

170. Themistocles makes Athens a Naval Power. — The victo- 
rious democrats at once divided into new parties. The more 
moderate section was content witli the constitution of Clis- 
thenes and was disposed to follow old customs. Its leader 
was Aristides, a calm, conservative man, surnamed " the Just." 
The radical wing, favoring new methods and further change, 
was led by Themistocles. Themistocles was sometimes less 
scrupulous and upright than Aristides, but he was one of the 
most resourceful and far-sighted statesmen of all history. 

Themistocles desired passionately one great departure from 
past custom in Athenian affairs. He wished to make Athens 
a naval power. He saio clearly that the real struggle ivith Persia 
ivas yet to come, and that the result could he decided hy victory on 
the sea. Such victory was more probable for the Greeks than 
victory on land. Huge as the Persian empire was, it had no 
seacoast except Egypt, Phoenicia, and Ionia. It could not, 
therefore, so vastly outnumber the Greeks in ships as in men ; 
and if the Greeks could secure command of the sea, Persia 
would be unable to attack them at all. 

But this proposed naval policy for Athens broke with all 
tradition, and could not win without a struggle. Seafarers 
though the Greeks were, up to this time they had not used 
ships much in war. Attica, in particular, had almost no navy. 
The party of Aristides wished to hold to the old policy of 
fighting on land, and they had the glorious victory of Marathon 
to strengthen their arguments. Feeling ran high. Finally, 
in 483, the leaders agreed to let a vote of ostracism decide 
between them. Fortunately, Aristides was ostracized (§ 153), 
and for some years the influence of Themistocles was the 
strongest power in Athens. 

While the voting was going on (according to Herodotus) a stupid fellow, 
who did not know Aristides, asked him to write the name Aristides on the 
shell he was about to vote. Aristides did so, asking, however, what harm 
Aristides had ever done the man. " .Vo harm," replied the voter; "in 



§ 171] THE MAIN ATTACK 179 

deed, I do not know him; but I am tired of hearing him called 'the Just.' " 
Head the other anecdotes about Aristides in Davis' Headings, Vol. I, No. 61. 

Themistocles at once put his new policy into operation. 
Kich veins of silver had recently been discovered in the mines 
of Attica, These mines beloufjed to the city, and a large reve- 
nue from them had accumulated in the public treasury. It 
had been proposed to divide the money among the citizens ; 
but Themistocles persuaded his countrymen to reject this 
tempting plan, and instead to build a great fleet. Thanks to 
this policy, in the next three years Athens became the great- 
est naval power in Hellas. The decisive victory of Salamis 
was to be the result (§ 179). 

THE THIRD ATTACK, 480-479 b.c. 

171. Persian Preparation. — Meantime, happily for the world, 
the great Darius died, and the invasion of Greece fell to his 
feebler son, Xerxes. Marathon had proved that no Persian 
fleet by itself could transport enough troops ; so the plan of 
Mardonius' expedition (§ 166) was tried again, but npon a 
larger scale, both as to army ayid fleet. 

To guard against another accident at Mt. Athos, a canal for 
ships was cut through the isthmus at the back of that rocky 
headland, — a great engineering work that took three years. 
Meantime, supplies were collected at stations along the way ; 
the Hellespont was bridged with chains of boats covered with 
planks ; ^ and at last, in the spring of 480, Xerxes in person 
led a mighty host of many nations into Europe. 

Ancient reports put the Asiatics at from one and a half 
million to two million soldiers, with followers and attendants 
to raise the total to five millions. Modern critics think 
Xerxes may have had some half-million troops, with numerous 
followers. In any case, the numbers vastly exceeded those 
which the Greeks could bring against them. A fleet of twelve 
hundred ships accompanied the army. 

1 Read Herodotus' story of Xerxes' wrath when the lirst bridge broke, and 
how he ordered the Hellespont to be flogged (Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 64). 



180 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§172 

172. The Greek Preparation. — The danger forced the Greeks 
into something like common action : into a greater unity, indeed, 
than they had ever known. Sparta and Athens joined in call- 
ing a Hellenic congress at Corinth, on the isthmus, in 481 b.c. 
The deputies that appeared bound their cities by oath to aid 
one another, and pledged their common efforts to punish any 
states that should join Persia. Ancient feuds were pacified. 
Plans of campaign were discussed, and Sparta was formally 
recognized as leader. In spite of Athens' recent heroism, the 
belief in Sparta's invincibility in war was too strong to permit 
any other choice. 

Messengers were sent also to implore aid from outlying por- 
tions of Hellas, but with little result. Crete excused herself 
on a superstitious scruple. Coi'cyra promised a fleet, but took 
care it should not arrive ; and the Greek tyrants in Sicily and 
Magna Graecia had their hands full at home with the Cartha- 
ginian invasion (§ 160). 

The outlook was full of gloom. Argos, out of hatred for 
Sparta, and Thebes, from jealousy of Athens, had refused to 
attend the congress, and were ready to join Xerxes. Even the 
Delphic oracle, which was of course consulted in such a crisis, 
predicted ruin and warned the Athenians in particular to flee 
to the ends of the earth. 

173. The Lines of Defense. — Against a land attack the 
Greeks had three lines of defense. The first was at the Vale 
of Tempe near Mount Olympus, where only a narrow pass 
opened into Thessaly. The second was at Thermopylae, where 
the mountains shut off northern from central ^ Greece, except 
for a road only a few feet in width. The third was behind the 
Isthmus of Corinth. 

174. Plan of Campaign. — At the congress at Corinth the 
Peloponneslans had icished selfishly to abandon the first two lines. 
They, urged that all patriotic Greeks should retire at once 
within the Peloponnesus, the final citadel of Greece, and for- 

1 For these terms, see map study, page 99. 



§ 176] THERMOPYLAE 181 

tify the isthmus by an impregnable wall. This plan was as 
foolish as it was selfish. Greek troops might have held the 
isthmus against the Persian land army ; but the Pelopon- 
nesus was readily open to attack by sea, and the Persian fleet 
would have found it easier here than at either of the other 
lines of defense to land troops in the Greek rear, ivithout losing 
touch tvith its own army. Such a surrender of two thirds of 
Greece, too, would have meant a tremendous reinforcement of 
the enemy by excellent Greek soldiery. Accordingly, it was 
finally decided to resist the entrance of the Persians into Greece 
by meeting them at the Vale of Tempe. 

175. The Loss of Thessaly. — Sparta, however, had no gift 
for going to meet an attack, but must always await it on the 
enemy's terms. A hundred thousand men should have held 
the Vale of Tempe ; but only a feeble garrison was sent there, 
and it retreated before the Persians appeared. Through 
Sparta's incapacity for leadership, Xerxes entered Greece 
without a blow. Then the Thessalian cities, deserted by their 
allies, joined the invaders with their powerful cavalry. 

176. Thermopylae: Loss of Central Greece. — This loss of 
Thessaly made it evident, even to Spartan statesmen, that to 
abandon central Greece would strengthen Xerxes further ; and 
it was decided in a half-hearted way to make a stand at Ther- 
mopylae. The pass was only some twenty feet wide between 
the cliff and the sea, and the only other path was one over the 
mountain, equally easy to defend. Moreover, the long island 
of Euboea approached the mainland just opposite the pass, so 
that the Greek fleet in the narroiv strait could guard the land 
army against having troops landed in the rear. 

The Greek fleet at this place numbered 270 ships. Of these 
the Athenians furnished half. The admiral was a Spartan, 
though his city sent only sixteen ships. The land defense had 
been left to the Peloponnesian league. This was the supremely 
important duty ; but the force, which Sparta had sent to attend 
to it, was shamefully small. The Spartan king, Leonidas, held 
the pass with three hundred Spartans and a few thousand 



182 



THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS 



[§176 



allies. The main force of Spartans ivas again left at home, on 
the ground of a religious festival. 

The Persians reached Thermopylae without a eheck. Battle 
was joined at once on land and sea, and raged for three days. 
Four hundred Persian ships were wrecked in a storm, and the 
rest were checked by the Greek fleet in a sternly contested con- 




Thermopylae. 
From a photograph: to show the steepness of the mountain side. 



flict at Artemisium. On land, Xerxes flung column after col- 
umn of chosen troops into the pass, to be beaten back each time 
in rout. But on the third night, Ephialtes, " the Judas of 
Greece," guided a force of Persians over the mountain path, 
which the Spartans had left only slightly guarded. Leonid as 
knew that he could no longer hold his position. He sent 
home his allies; but he and his three hundred Spartans re- 
mained to die in the pass which their country had given them 



§ 177] THERMOPYLAE 183 

to defend. They charged joyously upon the Persian spears, 
and fell fighting, to a man.^ 

Sparta had shown no capacity to command in this great 
crisis. Twice her shortsightedness had caused the loss of 
vital positions. But at Thermopylae her citizens had set 
Greece an example of calm heroism that has stirred the world 
ever since. In later times the burial place of the Three Hundred 
was marked by this inscription, " Stranger, go tell at Sparta 
that we lie here in obedience to her command." 

177. Destruction of Athens. — Xerxes advanced on Athens 
and was joined by most of central Greece. The Theban oli- 
garchs, in particular, welcomed him with genuine joy. The 
Peloponnesians would risk no further battle outside their own 
peninsula. They withdrew the army, and fell back upon their 
first plan of building a wall across the isthmus. Athens ivas 
left open to Persian vengeance. 

The news threw that city into uproar and despair. The 
Delphic oracle was appealed to, but it prophesied utter destruc- 
tion. Themistocles (perhaps by bribery) finally secured from 
the priestess an additional prophecy, that when all else was 
destroyed, " wooden walls " would still defend the Athenians. 
Many citizens then wished to retire within the wooden palisade 
of the Acropolis; but Themistocles, the guiding genius of the 
stormy day, persuaded them that the oracle meant the " wooden 
walls " of their ships. 

The Greek fleet had withdrawn from Artemisium, after the 
Persians won the land pass ; and the Spartan admiral was 
bent upon retiring at once to the position of the Peloponnesian 
army, at the isthmus. By vehement entreaties, Themistocles 
persuaded him to hold the whole fleet for a day or two at 
Athens, to help remove the women and children and old men 
to Salamis and other near-by islands. More than 200,000 

iQne Spartan, who had been left for dead by the Persians, afterward re- 
covered and returned home. But his fellow-citizens treated him with pitying 
contempt ; and at the next great battle, he sought and found death, fighting 
in the front rank. 



184 



THE KEEKS — PERSIAN WARS 



[§ ITS 



people had to be moved from their homes. There was no time 
to save property. The Persians marehed triumphantly through 
Attica, burning villages and farmsteads, and laid Athens and 
its temples in ashes. 




G, tho Greek tieet at Salainis. FTP. the Persian tieet. A', tlie Throne 
of Xerxes. (The " Ix>njr Walls " were not built until later; § '2{)0.) 

178. Strategy of Themistocles. — But Themistoeles, in delay- 
ing the retreat of the tieet, planned for more than escape. Jle 
was determi))ed that the decisive battle {ihoiild be a sea battle, and 
that it should be fought where the feet then laf/. No other spot 
so favorable could be found. The narrow strait between the 
Athenian shore and Salamis would embarrass the Persian num- 
bers, and help to nuike up for the small niunbers of the Greek 
ships. Themistocles saw, too, that if they withdrew to 



§ 178] TTTEATTSTOOLES 185 

Corinth, as the Peloponnesians insisted, all chance of united 
action would be lost. The fleet would break up. Some ships 
would sail home to defend their own island cities ; and others, 
like those of Megara and Aegina, feeling that their cities were 
deserted, might join the Persians. 

The fleet had grown now to 378 ships. The Athenians 
furnished 200 of these. With wise and generous patriotism, 
they had yielded the chief command to Sparta, but of course 
Themistocles carried weight in the council of captains. It was 




The Bay of Salamis. — Fn)iii a pluttograph. 

he who, by persuasion, entreaties, and bribes, had kept the navy 
from abandoning the land forces at Thermopylae, before the 
sea fight off Artemisium. A similar but greater task now fell 
to him. Debate waxed fierce in the all-night council of the 
captains. Arguments were exhausted, and Themistocles had 
recourse to threats. The Corinthian admiral sneered that the 
allies need not regard a man who no longer represented a 
Greek city. The Athenian retorted that he represented two 
hundred ships, and could make a city, or take one, where he 
chose ; and, by a threat to sail away to found a new Athens in 
Italy, he forced the allies to remain. Even then the decision 
would have been reconsidered, had not the wily Themistocles 
made use of a strange stratagem. AVith pretended friendship, 



ISO THE OREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§170 

he sent a secret message to Xerxes, notifyini: him of the weak- 
ness ami dissensions of the Greeks, and adrisimj lu'ni to block up 
the ittraits to prcnnit their escape. 

Xerxes took this treacherous advice. Aristides, whose os- 
tracism had been revoked in the hour of danger, and who now 
slipped through the hostih* tleet in his singh^ ship to join Ids 
countrymen, brought the news that they were surrounded. 
There n'a{i noir no clioire but to Jiqht. 

179. The Battle of Salamis. — The Persian lieet was twice 
the size of the Greek, and was itself hirgely made up of Asiatic 
Greeks, while the Phoenicians and Egyptians, who composed 
the remainder, were t'auunis sailors. The conflict the next 
day lasted from dawn to night, but the Greek victory was 
complete. 

'' A kinj; sat on the rooky brow ^ 

Wliich looks o'er sea-born Salamis; 

And ships by thousands lay below, 

And men in nations, — all were his. 

He counted them at break of day. 

And when the sun set. where were they?'* 

Aeschylus, an Athenian poet who ^vas present in the battle, 
gives a noble picture of it in his dranui. The Persiona. The 
speaker is a Persian, telling the story to the Persian queen- 
mother : — 

'' Not in tlight 

The Hellenes then their solenui paeans sang, 

But with brave spirits hastening on to battle. 

With martial sound the trumpet tired those ranks : 

And straight with sweep of oars that tlew thro' foam. 

They smote the loud waves at the boatswain's call . . . 

And all at once we heaixl a mighty shout — 

'O isona of HelleneSy foncant free ijour country ; 

Free, too, your trives. your chihiren, and the tihrines 

Built to your fathers' Gods, and holy tomfis 

Your ancestors note rest in. The ^riijht 

Is for our all.' . . . 



1 A jrolden throne had l>een set up for Xerxes, that he might better view 

the battle. Those linos aro from Bvrou. 



§ ISl] SALAMTS 187 

. . . And the hulls of sliips 
Floated capsized, nor could the sea be seen, 
Filled as it was with wrecks and carcasses ; 
And all the shores and rocks were full of corpses, 
And every ship was wildly rowed in flight, 
All that composed the Persian armament. 
And they [(treeks], as men spear tunnies, or a haul 
Of other fishes, with the shafts of oars. 
Or spars of wrecks, went smiting, cleaving down ; 
And bitter groans and wailings overspread 
The wide sea waves, till eye of swarthy night 
Bade it all cease ... lie assured 
That never yet so great a nudtitude 
Died in a single day as ilicd in this."' 

180. Two incidents in the celebration of the victory throw light upon 
Greek character. 

The commanders of the various city contingents in the Greek fleet 
voted a prize of merit to the city that deserved best in the action. The 
Athenians had furnished more than half the whole fleet ; they were the 
first to engage, and they had especially distinguished themselves ; they 
had seen their city laid in ashes, and only their steady patriotism had 
made a victory possible, rclopoiniesian jeaUmstf, however, j^f^^^^d them 
bij for their rival, Aegina, which had Joined the Sparta)i league. 

A vote was taken, also, to award jirizes to the two most meritorious 
commanders. Each captain voted for himself for the first place, while 
all voted for Themisfoclcs for the second. 

181. The Temptation of Athens. — On the day of Salamis the 
Sicilian Greeks won a decisive victory over the Carthaginians 
at Ilimera. For a while, that battle closed the struggle in 
the West. In Greece the Persian chances were still good. 
Xerxes, it is true, tied at once to Asia with his shattered fleet ; 
but he left his general, the experienced Mardonius, with three 
hiuidred thousand chosen troops. Mardonius withdrew from 
central Greece for the time, to winter in the plains of Thessaly ; 
but he would be ready to renew the struggle in the spring. 

The Athenians began courageously to rebuild their city. 
Mardonius looked upon them as the soul of the Greek resist- 
ance, and in the early spring, he offered them an alliance, with 
many favors and with the complete restoration of their city at 



188 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ 182 

Persian expense. Sparta was terrified lest the Athenians 
should accept so tempting an offer, and sent in haste, with 
many promises, to beg them not to desert the cause of Hellas. 
There was no need of such anxiety. The Athenians had 
already sent back the Persian messenger : " Tell jMardonius 
that so long as the sun holds on his way in heaven, the 
Athenians will come to no terms with Xerxes." They then 
courteously declined the Spartan offer of aid in rebuildiug 
their city, and asked 0))I>/ that Sjtarta take the fiekl earhi enough 
so that Athens need not be again abandoned without a battle. 

Sjmrta made the j^^'oniise, but did not keep it. Mardouius 
approached rapidly. The Spartans found another sacred fes- 
tival before which it would not do to leave their homes ; and 
the Athenians, in bitter disappointment, a second time took 
refuge at Salamis. With their city in his hands, Mardonius 
offered them again the same favorable terms of alliance. Only 
one of the Athenian Council favored even submitting the 
matter to the people, — and he was instantly stoned by the 
enraged populace, while the women inflicted a like cruel fate 
upon his wife and children. Even such violence does not 
obscure the heroic self-sacrifice of the Athenians. Mardonius 
burned Athens a second time, laid waste the farms over 
Attica, cut down the olive groves (the slow growth of many 
years), and then retired to the level ])lains of Boeotia. 

182. Battle of Plataea, 479 b c. — Athenian envoys had been 
at Sparta for weeks begging for instant action, but they had 
been put off with meaningless delays. The fact was, Sparta 
still clung to the stupid plan of defending only the isthmus, 
— which was all that she had made real preparations for. 
Some ot her keener allies, however, at last made the Ephors 
see the uselessness of the wall at Corinth if the Athenians 
should be forced to join Persia with their fleet, as in that 
case, the Persians could land an army anywhere they chose 
in the rear of the wall. So Sparta decided to act ; and she 
gave a striking proof of her resources. One morning the 
Athenian envoys, who had given up hope, announced indig- 



§ 183] PLATAEA 189 

nantly to the Spartan government that they would at once 
return home. To their amazement, they were tokl that during 
the night 50,000 Peloponnesian troops had set out for central 
Greece. 

The Athenian forces and other reinforcements raised the total 
of the Greek army to about 100,000, and tlie final contest with 
Mardonius was fought near the little town of Plataea. Spartan 
generalship blundered sadly, and many of the allies were not 
brought into the fight ; but the stubborn Spartan valor and the 
Athenian skill and dash won a victory which became a massacre 
It is said that of the 200,000 Persians engaged, only 3000 
escaped to Asia. The Greeks lost 154 men. 

183. The Meaning of the Greek Victory. — The victory of 
Plataea closed the first great period of the Persian Wars. A 
second period was to begin at once, but it had to do with freeing 
the Asiatic Greeks. That is, Europe took the offensive. No 
hostile Persian ever again set foot in European Greece. 

A Persian victory would have meant the extinction of the 
world's best hope. The Persian civilization was Oriental 
(§§ 80, 81). Marathon and Salamis decided that the des- 
potism of the East should not crush the rising freedom of 
the West in its first home. 

To the Greeks themselves their victory opened a new epoch. 
They were victors over the greatest of world-empires. It was 
a victory of intellect and spirit over matter. Unlimited confi- 
dence gave them still greater power. New energies stirred in 
their veins and found expression in manifold forms. The 
matchless bloom of Greek art and thought, in the next two 
generations, had its roots in the soil of Marathon and Plataea. 

Moreover, slow as the Greeks had been to see Sparta's poor 
management, most of them could no longer shut their eyes 
to it. Success had been due mainly to the heroic self-sacri- 
fice and the splendid energy and wise patriotism of Athens. 
And that city — truest representative of Greek culture — was 
soon to take her proper place in the political leadership of 
Greece. 



190 THE GREEKS — PERSIAN WARS [§ 1S3 

Exercises. — 1. Summarize the causes of the Persian Wars. 2. Devise 
and memorize a series of catch-irords for rapid statement, that shall sug- 
gest the outline of the story quickly. Thus : — 

Persian conquest of Lydia and so of Asiatic (rreeks ; revolt of Ionia, 
500 B.C. ; Athenian aid ; reconquest of Ionia. First expedition against 
European Greece. 492 B.C., throuirh Thrace : Mount Athos. Second expe- 
dition, across the Aegean, two years later : captm-e of Eretria ; landing 
at Marathon; excuses of Sparta; arrival of Plataeans ; MUtiades and 
batth of Marathon, 490 B.C. 

(Let the student continue the series. In this way, the ichole story may 
be reviewed in two minutes, with reference to every important event.) 



For Further Reading. — Specially sugt/ested : Davis' Headings 
gives the whole story of Xerxes' invasion as the Greeks themselves told 
it, in Vol. I, Nos. 02-73, — about 47 pages. Nowhere else can it be read 
so well ; and the high school student who does read that account can 
afford to omit modern authorities. If he reads further, it may well be 
in one of the volumes mentioned below, mainly to see how the modern 
authority has used or criticised the account by Herodotus. 

Additional: Cox's Greeks and Persians is an admirable little book: 
chs. v-viii may be read for this story. Bury is rather critical ; but the 
student may profitably explore his pages for parts of the story (pp. 205- 
295). Many anecdotes are given in Plutarch's Z, /res (" Theraistocles " 
and " Aristides"'). 



CHAPTER XIII 

ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP, 478-431 B.C. 

(From thk Pkksiax Wak to tiik Peloponnesian War) 

The history of Athens is for us the history of Greece. — Holm. 

GROWTH OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 

184. Athens Fortified. — Immediately after Plataea, the 
Athenians began once more to rebuikl their temples and homes. 
Themistocles, however, persuaded them to leave even these in 
ashes and first surround the city with walls. Some Greek cities 
at once showed themselves basely eager to keej) Athens help- 
less. Corinth, especially, urged Sparta to interfere ; and, to her 
shame, Sparta did call upon the Athenians to give up the plan. 
Such walls, she said, might prove an advantage to the Persians 
if they should again occupy Athens. Attica, which had been 
ravaged so recently by the Persians, was in no condition to 
resist a Peloponnesian army. So, neglecting all private mat- 
ters, the Athenians toiled with desperate haste — men, women, 
children, and slaves. The irregular nature of the walls told 
the story to later generations. No material was too precious. 
Inscribed tablets and fragments of sacred temples and even 
monuments from the burial grounds were seized for the work. 
To gain the necessary time, Themistocles had recourse to wiles. 
As Thucydides (§ 224) tells the story : — 

" The Athenians, by the advice of Themistocles, replied that they 
would send an embassy to discuss the matter, and so got rid of the Spar- 
tan envoys. Themistocles then proposed that he should himself start at 
once for Sparta, and that they should i^ive him colleagues who were not 
to go immediately, but were to wait until the wall had reached a height 
which could be defended. . . . On his arrival, he did not at once pre- 
sent himself officially to the magistrates, but delayed and made excuses, 

191 



192 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§185 

and when any of them asked him why he did not appear before the 
Assembly, he said that he was waiting for his colleagues who had been 
detained. . . . The friendship of the magistrates for Themistocles in- 
duced them to believe him, but when everybody who came from Athens 
declared positively that the wall was building, and had already reached a 
considerable height, they knew not what to think. Aware of their 
suspicions, Themistocles asked them not to be misled by reports, but to 
send to Athens men of their own whom they could trust, to see for them- 
selves. 

" The Spartans agreed ; and Themistocles, at the same time, privately 
instructed the Athenians to detain the Spartan envoys as quietly as pos- 
sible, and not let them go till he and his colleagues had got safely home. 
For by this time, those who were joined with him in the embassy had 
arrived, bringing the news that the wall was of sufficient height, and he 
was afraid that the Lacedaemonians, i when they heard the truth, might 
not allow him to return. So the Athenians detained the envoys, and 
Themistocles, coming before the Lacedaemonians, at length declared, in 
so many words, that Athens was now provided with walls and would pro- 
tect her citizens : henceforward, if the Lacedaemonians wished at any 
time to negotiate, they must deal with the Athenians as with men who 
knew quite well what was best for their own and the common good." 

185. The Piraeus. — Themistocles was not yet content. 
Athens lay some three miles from the shore. Until a 
few years before, her only port had been an open road- 
stead, — the Phalerum ; but during his archonship in 493, 
as part of his plan for naval greatness, Themistocles had 
given the city a magnihcent harbor, by improving the bay of 
the PiraeuSy at great expense. Now he persuaded the people 
to fortify this new port. Accordingly, the Piraeus, on the 
land side, was surrounded with a massive wall of solid masonry, 
clamped with iron, sixteen feet broad and thirty feet high, so 
that old men and boys might easily defend it against any 
enemy. TJie Athenians no\o had two walled cities, each four or 
five miles in circuit, and only four miles apart. 

186. Commerce and Sea Power. — The alien merchants, who 
dwelt at the Athenian ports, had fled at the Persian invasion ; 

1 Lacedaemonia is the name given to the whole Spartan territory. See 
map after page 98. 



187] 



ATHENIAN COMMERCE 



193 



but this new security brought them back in throngs, to con- 
tribute to the power and wealth of Athens. Themistocles took 
care, too, that Athens should not lose her supremacy on the sea. 
Even while the walls of the Piraeus were building, he secured 
a vote of the Assembly ordering that twenty new ships should 
be added each year to the fleet. 



F-Port of Piraeus 

ggg 



Porticoes and 
Corn-market 



jj_Tomb of 

Themistocles 




S A K O N- T C G U 



aaa -Walls of Themistocles. 
666 -Old City Limits. 
A —Acropolis. 
B -Areopagus. 
C-Pnyx. 
D —Museum. 
£— Agora. 



Plan of Athens and its Ports. i 

187. Attempt at One League of All Hellas. — While the Greek army 
was still encamped on the field of victory at Plataea, it was agreed to 
hold there each year a Congress of all Greek cities. For a little time 
back, danger had forced a make-shift union upon the Greeks. The plan 
at Plataea was a wise attempt to make this union into a permanent con- 
federacy of all Hellas. 71}e proposal came from the Athenians, with 
the generous understanding that Sparta should keep the headship. The 
plan failed. Indeed, the jealous hostility of Sparta regarding the fortifi- 
cation of Athens showed that a true union would be difficult. Instead of 
one confederacy, Grreecefell apart into two rival leagues. 



1 The " Long Walls " were not built until several years after the events 
mentioned in this section. See § 200. 



194 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§188 

188. Sparta and Athens. — Though Sparta had held command 
in the war, still the repulse of Persia had counted most for the 
glory of Athens. Athens had made greater sacrifices than any 
other state. She had shown herself free from petty vanity, 
and had acted with a broad patriotism. She had furnished 
the best ideas and ablest leaders ; and, even in the field, Athe- 
nian enterprise and vigor had accomplished as much as Spartan 
discipline and valor. 

Sjyarta had been necessary at the beginning. Had it not 
been for her great reputation, the Greeks would not have 
known where to turn for a leader, and so, probably, could not 
have come to any united action. But she had shown miserable 
judgment; her leaders, however brave, had proved incapable^; 
and, now that war against Persia was to be carried on at a 
distance, her lack of enterprise became even more evident. 
Meantime, events were happening in Asia Minor which were 
to force Athens into leadership. The European Greeks had 
been unwilling to follow any but Spartan generals on sea or 
land ; but the scene of the war tvas noio transferred to the 
Ionian coast, and there Athens teas the more popidar citij. 
Many cities there, like Miletus, looked upon Athens as their 
mother city (§ 121). 

189. Mycale. — In the early spring of 479, a fleet had crossed 
the Aegean to assist Samos in revolt against Persia. A Spartan 
commanded the expedition, but three fifths of the ships were 
Athenian. On the very day of Plataea (so the Greeks told 
the story), these forces won a double victory a.t Mycale, on the 
coast of Asia Minor. They defeated a great Persian army, 
and seized and burned the three hundred Persian ships. No 
Persian fleet showed itself again in the Aexjeanfor nearly a hun- 
dred years. Persian garrisons remained in many of the islands, 
for a time ; but Persia made no attempt to reinforce them. 

1 Two of her kings were soon to play traitorous parts to Sparta and Hellas. 
Special report : King Leotychides in Thessaly. See also Pausanias at Byzan- 
tium, § UK). The boasted Spartan training did not fit her men for the duties 
of the ivider life noio open to them. 



§ 191] THE CONFEDERACY OF DELOS 195 

190. The Ionian Greeks throw off Spartan Leadership. — The 
victory of Mycale was a signal for tlie cities of Ionia to revolt 
again against Persia. The Spartans, however, shrank from the 
task of defending Hellenes so far away, and proposed instead 
to remove the lonians to European Greece. The lonians refused 
to leave their homes, and the Athenians in the fleet declared 
that Sparta should not so destroy " Athenian colonies." The 
Spartans seized the excuse to sail home, leaving the Athenians to 
protect the lonians as best they could. The Athenians gal- 
lantly undertook the task, and began at once to expel the 
Persian garrisons from the islands of the Aegean. 

The next spring (478) Sparta thought better of the matter, 
and sent Pausanias to take command of the allied fleet. Pau- 
sanias had been the general of the Greeks at the battle of the 
Plataea ; but that victory had turned his head. He treated the 
allies with contempt and neglect. At last they found his inso- 
lence unbearable, and asked the Athenians to take the leader- 
ship. Just then it was discovered that Pausanias had been 
negotiating treasonably with Persia, offering to betray Hellas. 
Sparta recalled him, to stand trial,^ and sent another general to 
the fleet. The allies, however, refused to receive another 
Spartan commander. Then Sparta and the Peloponnesian league 
ivithdreio wholly from the icar. 

191. The Confederacy of Delos. — After getting rid of Sparta, 
the first step of the allies was to organize a confederacy. The 
chief part in this great work fell to Aristides, the commander 
of the Athenian ships in the allied fleet. Aristides proposed 
a plan of union, and appointed the number of ships and the 
amount of money that each of the allies should furnish each 
year. Tlie courtesy and tact of the Athenian, and his known 
honesty, made all the states content with his proposals, and 
his arrangements were readily accepted.^ 

The union was called the Confederacy of Delos, because its 

1 Special report: the story of the punishment of Pausanias. 

2 Exercise. —1. Could Themistocles have served Athens at this time as 
well as Aristides did ? 2. Report upon the later life of Themistocles. 



196- THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§192 

seat of government and its treasury were to be at the island of 
Delos (the center of an ancient Ionian amphictyony). Here 
an annual congress of deputies from the different cities of the 
league" was to meet. Each city had one vote.^ Athens was 
the " president " of the league. Her generals commanded the 
fleet, and her delegates presided at the Congress. In return, 
Athens bore nearly half the total burdens, in furnishing ships 
and men, — far more than her proper share. 

The purpose of the league was to free the Aegean completely 
from the Persians, and to keep them from ever coming back. 
The allies meant to make the union perpetual. Lumps of iron 
were thrown into the sea when the oath of union was taken, as 
a symbol that it should be binding until the iron should float. 
The league ivas composed mainhj of Ionian cities, interested in 
commerce. It was a natural rival of Sparta's Dorian inland 
league. 

192. The League did its work well. Its chief military hero 
was the Athenian Cimon, son of Miltiades.^ Year after year, 
under his command, the allied fleet reduced one Persian gar- 
rison after another, until the whole region of the Aegean — 
all its coasts and islands — was free. Then, in 466, Cimon 
carried the war beyond the Aegean and won his most famous 
victory at the mouth of the Enrymedon, in Pamphylia (map 
following page 132), where in one day he destroyed a Persian 
land host and captured a fleet of 250 vessels. 

193. Naturally, the League grew in size. It came to include 
nearly all the islands of the Aegean and the cities of the 
northern and eastern coasts. The cities on the straits and 
shores of the Black Sea, too, were added, and the rich trade of 
that region streamed through the Hellespont to the Piraeus. 
After the victory of the Eur^^medon, many of the cities of the 
Cai'ian and Lycian coasts joined the confederacy. Indeed, the 
cities of the league felt that all other Greeks of the Aegean 

1 Like our states in Congress nnder the old Articles of Confederation. 

2 There is an interesting account of Cimon (three pages) in Davis' Read- 
ings, Vol. I, No. 74, from Plutarch's Life. 



§ 195] THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE 197 

and of neighboring waters were 2mder obligation to join, since 
they all had part in the blessings of the union. Aristophanes 
speaks of a " thousand cities " in the league, but only two hun- 
dred and eighty are known by name. 

194. Some members of the League soon began to shirk. As 
soon as the pressing danger and the first entlmsiam were over, 
many cities chose to pay more money, instead of famishing ships 
and men. They became indifferent, too, about the congress, 
and left the management of all matters to Athens. Athens, 
on the other hand, was ambitious, and eagerly accepted both 
burdens and responsibilities. The fleet became almost wholly 
Athenian. Then it was no longer necessary for Athens to 
consult the allies as to the management of the war, and the 
congress became of little consequence. 

Another change wa.s still more important. Here and there, 
cities began to refuse even the payment of money. This, of 
course, was secession. Such cities said that Persia was no 
longer dangerous, and that the need of the league was over. 
But the Athenian fleet, patrolling the Aegean, was all that 
kept the Persians from reappearing; and Athens, with good 
reason, held the allies by force to their promises. 

The first attempt at secession came in 467, when the union 
was only ten years old. Naxos, one of the most powerful 
islands, refused to pay its contributions. Athens at once 
attacked Naxos, and, after a stern struggle, brought it to sub- 
mission. But the conquered state teas not allowed to return into 
the union. It lost its vote in the congress, and became a mere 
subject of Athens. 

195. The "Athenian Empire." — From time to time, other 
members of the league attempted secession, and met a fate 
like that of Naxos. Athens took away their fleets, leveled 
their walls, made them pay a small tribute. Sometimes such 
a city had to turn over its citadel to an Athenian garrison. 
Usually a subject city was left to manage its internal govern- 
ment in its own way ; but it could no longer have political 
alliances with other cities. 



198 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§196 

Just how many such rebellions there were we do not know; 
but before long the loyal cities found themselves treated 
much like those that had rebelled. The confederacy of equal 
states became an empire, icith Athens for its ^'ti/rant city.''^ The 
meetings of the congress ceased altogether. The treasury was 
removed from Delos to Athens, and the funds and resources 
of the union were nsed for the glory of Athens. 

Athens, however, did continue to perform faithfully the work 
for which the union had been created; and on the whole, despite 
the strong tendency to city independence, the subject cities 
seem to have been well content. Even hostile critics con- 
fessed that the bulk of the people looked gratefully to Athens 
for protection against the oligarchs. Athens was the true 
mother of Ionian democracy. As an Athenian orator said, 
"Athens ivas the champion of the masses, denying the right of 
the many to be at the mercy of the few." In nearly every city 
of the empire the ruling power became an Assembly like that 
at Athens. 

By 450 B.C. Lesbos, Chios, and Samos were the only states of the 
league which had not become "subject states" ; and even tliey had no 
voice in the government of the empire. Athens, however, had other 
independent allies that had never belonged to the Delian Confederacy 
— like riataea, Corcyra, Naupactus, and Acarnania in Greece ; Rhegium 
in Italy ; and Segesta and other Ionian cities in Sicily. 

For Further Readixg. — SpeciaJh/ suggested : The only passage in 
Davis' Beadings for this period is Vol. I, No. 74, on Cimon. Bury, 228- 
242, covers the period. Instead of Bury, the student may well read 
Chapter 1 in Cox's Athenian Empire. Plutarch's Themistocles and 
Aristides continue to be valuable for additional reading. 

FIRST PERIOD OF STRIFE WITH SPARTA, 4(51-445 b.c. 

196. Jealousy between Athens and Sparta. — Greece had di- 
vided into two great leagues, under the lead of Athens and 
Sparta. These two powers now quarreled, and their strife 
made the history of Hellas for many years. The first hostile 
step came from Sparta. In 4:65, Thasos, a member of the 



§ 199] FIRST STRIFE WITH SPARTA 199 

Confederacy of Delos, revolted; and Athens was employed 
for two years in conquering her. During the struggle, Thasos 
asked Sparta for aid. Sparta and Athens were still nominally 
in alliance, under the league of Plataea (§ 186) ; but Sparta 
grasped at the opportunity and secretly began preparations to 
invade Attica. 

197. Athenian Aid for Sparta. — This treacherous attack was 
prevented by a terrible earthquake which destroyed part of 
Sparta and threw the whole state into confusion. The Helots 
revolted, and INtessenia (§ 127) made a desperate attempt to re- 
gain her independence. Instead of attacking Athens, Sparta, 
in dire need, called upon her for aid. 

At Athens this request led to a sharp dispute. The demo- 
cratic party, led by Ephialtes ^ and Pericles, was opposed to 
sending help; but Cinion (§ 192), leader of the aristocratic 
|)arty, urged that the true policy was for Sparta and Athens 
to aid each other in keeping a joint leadership of Hellas. 
Athens, he said, ought not to let her yoke-fellow be destroyed 
and Greece be lamed. This generous advice prevailed; and 
Cimon led an Athenian army to Sparta's aid. 

198. An Open Quarrel. — A little later, however, the Spartans 
began to suspect the Athenians, groundlessly, of the same bad 
faith of which they knew themselves guilty, and sent back the 
army with insult. Indignation then ran high at Athens ; and 
the anti-Spartan party was greatly strengthened. Cimon was 
ostracized (461 b.c), and the aristocratic faction was left 
leaderless and helpless for many years. 

At almost the same time Ephialtes was murdered by aristo- 
crat conspirators. Thus, leadership fell to Pericles. Under 
his influence Athens formally renounced her alUcince with 
Sparta. Then the two great powers of Greece stood in open 
opposition, ready for war. 

199. A Land Empire for Athens. — Thus far the Athenian 
empire had been mainly a sea power. Pericles planned to 

1 This, of course, was uot the Ephialtes of Thermopylae. 



200 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP 



200 



extend it likewise over inland Greece, and so to supplant 
Sparta. He easily secured an alliance with Argos, Sparta's 
sleepless foe. He established Athenian influence also in Thes- 
saly, by treaties with the great chiefs there, and thus secured 
the aid of the famous Thessalian cavalry. Then Megara, on 

the Isthmus of Corinth, 
sought Athenian alliance, 
in order to protect itself 
against Corinth, its power- 
ful neighbor. This in- 
volved war with Corinth, 
but Pericles gladly wel- 
comed IVIegara because of 
its ports on the Corinthian 
Gulf. He then built long 
walls running the whole 
width of the narrow isth- 
nuisfrom seato sea, joining 
^legara and these ports. 
In control of these w^alls, 
Athens could prevent in- 
vasion by land from the 
Pelo])onnesus. 

200. Activity of Athens. 
— A rush of startling 
Pericles. ^^^^^^^ followed. Corinth 

A portrait bust, now in the Vatican at Rome. ^^^ Aegina, bitterly angry 
because their old commerce had now been drawn to the Piraeus, 
declared war on Athens. Athens promptly captured Aegina, 
and struck Corinth blow after blow even in the Corinthian 
Gulf. At the same time, without lessening her usual fleet in the 
Aegean, she sent a mighty armament of 250 ships to carry on 
the war against Persia, by assisting Egypt in a revolt. Such 
a fleet called for from 2500 to 5000 soldiers and 50,000 sailors.^ 




1 A Greek warship of this period was called a " three-banker" {trireme), 
because she was rowed by oarsmen arranged on three benches, one above 



200] 



ATHENIAN ACTIVITY 



201 



The sailors came largely from the poorer citizens, and even 
from the non-citizen class. 

Pericles turned next to Boeotia, and set up friendly democ- 
racies in many of the cities there to lessen the control of oli- 
garchic and hostile Thebes. The quarrel with Sparta had 




Side of Part of a Trireme. — From a relief at Athens. In this trireme 
the highest " bank " of rowers rested their oars ou the gunwale. Only the 
oars of the other two banks are visible. 

become open war ; and an Athenian fleet burned the Laconian 
dock-yards. A Spartan army crossed the Corinthian Gulf and 



another. The wars which the Greeks waged in these three-bankers were hardly 
more fierce than those that modern scholars have waged — in ink — about 
them. Some have held that each group of three oarsmen held only one oar. 
This view is now abandoned — because of the evidence of the "reliefs" on 
Greek monuments. Plainly each group of three had three separate oars, of 
different lengths ; but we do not know yet how they could have worked them 
successfully. The oars projected through port-holes, and the 174 oarsmen 
were protected from arrows by the wooden sides of the vessel. Sometimes — as 
in the illustration above — the upper bank of rowers had no protection. There 
were about 20 other sailors to each ship, for helmsman, lookouts, overseers 
of the oarsmen, and so on. And a warship never carried less than ten fully 
armed soldiers. The Athenians usually sent from 20 to 25 in each ship. 

The ships were about 120 feet long, and less than 20 feet wide. The two 
masts were always lowered for battle. Two methods of attack were in use. If 
possible, a ship crushed in the side of an opponent by ramming with its sharp 
bronze prow. This would sink the enemy's ship at once. Almost as good a 
thing was to run close along her side (shipping one's own oars on that side 
just in time), shivering her long oars and hurling her rowers from the benches. 
This left a shii) as helpless as a bird with a broken wing. 



202 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§ 201 

appeared in l^oeotia, to check Athenian progress there. It won 
a partial victory at Tanagra (map after page 98), — tlie first 
real battle between the two states, — but immediately retreated 
into the Peloponnesus. The Athenians at once reappeared in 
the field, crushed the Thebans in a great battle at Oenophyta, 
and became masters of all Boeotia. At the same time Phocis 
and Locris allied themselves to Athens, so that she seemed in 
a fair way to extend her land empire over all central Greece, — 
to which she now held the two gates, Thermopylae and the 
passes of the isthmus. A little later Achaea, in the Pelo- 
ponnesus itself, was added to the Athenian league. 

The activity of Athens at this period is marvelous. It 
is impossible even to mention the many instances of her 
matchless energy and splendid daring for the few years after 
4()0, while the empire was at its height. For one instance : 
just when Athens' hands were fullest in Egypt and in the 
siege of Aegina, Corinth tried a diversion by invading the 
territory of ^Nlegara. Athens did not recall a man. She armed 
the youths and the old men ])ast age of service, and repelled 
the invaders. The Corinthians, stung by shame, made a sec- 
ond, more determined attem})t, ami were again repulsed Avith 
great slaughter. It was at this time, too, that the city com- 
pleted her fortifications, by building the Long Walls from 
Athens to her ports (maps, pages 180 and 189). These walls 
were 80 feet high and 12 feet thick. They made Athens abso- 
lutely safe from a siege, so long as she kept her supremacy on 
the sea ; and they added to the city a large open space where 
the country people might take refuge in case of invasion. 

201. Loss of the Land Empire. — How one city could carry 
on all these activities is ahnost beyond comprehension. Put 
the resources of Athens were severely strained, and a sudden 
series of stunning blows well-nigh exhausted her. The expedi- 
tion to Egypt had at first been brilliantly successful,^ but un- 
foreseen disaster followed, and the 250 ships and the whole 

1 Athenian success here would have shut Persia off eouipletely from the 
Mediterranean, and so from all possible contact with Europe. 



§203] THE POWER OF ATHENS 203 

army in Egypt were lost.^ This stroke would have annihilated 
any other Greek state, and it was followed by others. Megara, 
which had itself invited an Athenian garrison, now treacher- 
ously massacred it and joined the Peloponnesian league. A 
Spartan army then entered Attica through Megara; and, at 
the same moment, Eiiboea burst into revolt. All Boeotia, too, 
except Plataea, fell away. The oligarchs won the upper hand 
in its various cities, and joined themselves to Sparta. 

202. The Thirty Years' Truce. — The activity and skill of 
Pericles saved Attica and Euboea; but the inland possessions 
and alliances were for the most part lost, and in 445 b.c. a 
Thirty Fears' Truce was concluded with Sparta. A little be- 
fore this, the long war with Persia had closed. 

For fifteen years Athens had almost unbroken peace. Then 
the truce between Sparta and Athens was broken, and the 
great Peloponnesian War began (§§ 241 ff.). That struggle 
ruined the power of Athens and the promise of Greece. There- 
fore, before entering upon its story, we will stop here for a 
survey of Greek civilization at this period of its highest glory, 
in Athens, its chief center. 

For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Beadings, 
Vol. I, Nos. 73-75 (4 pages); Bury, 352-363. Additional: Cox's Athe- 
nian Empire^ and the opening cliapters of Grant's Greece in the Age of 
Pericles. 

THE EMPIRE AND THE IMPERIAL CITY IN PEACE 

203. Three Forms of Greatness. — Athens had great material power 
and a high political development and wonderful intellectual greatness. The 
last is what she especially stands for in history. But the first two topics 
have already been partly discussed, and may be best disposed of here 
before the most important one is taken up. 

A. Military Strength 

The Athens of the fifth century was a great state in a higher sense 
than most of the kingdoms of the Middle Ages. . . . For the space of a 

1 Special report. 



204 TMK (ilv'KKKS A'l'IIMNIAN LKADKKSIl 1 !» |§ JOI 

half (■(iifiirii hrr poirn- ira.s (jiii/r on a juir irith tlutt of rrrsiit, . . . und 
the .[(hciiitni Knipirv is fhc (rnr pn cursor of t/iosi- of Mactdonid and 
lionw. lloi.M, II, L'M). 

204. Material Power.- — Tlu' last, real ('li:in('(» for a iinilccl 
llcllas j»asst'(l away when Athens lost^cont rol of ('(Mitral (Jrcccc. 
Hut at. th(^ inoMKMit. tlu^ loss of land empiric did not. sctMu to 
lessen Athens' streiiijft.h. She had saved her sea (Mupire, and 
eonsolidaied it. nioi-e tiianly than evei-. Ami, for (t (jcucrd- 
fioii niorr, the (/neks of t/htt empire ircre tin' /iutdcrs of the ii'orld 
ill poircr, (ts in rn/fuir. 'They ha.d proved themselves more than 
Ji niaieh lor I'ersia. The mere mai;ie ol" tlie AtluMiian name 
sntlieed to keep ( 'art ha_<;"e from renewing- her a.t.t.a.ek upon tlu^ 
Sicilian (ireeks. The Athenian colonies in TIhjuh'* easily held 
in cheek the risins^ Macedonian kingdom. Konie, whic^h three 
ctMituries later was to absorb Hellas into her world-enipii-e, was 
still a. barbarous villa,L,'e on the Tiber baidv. In the middle ol" 
the tifth c(>nliiry n.c. (he renter of poirer in the leorld ints impe- 
rial Af/iens. 

205. Population. — The cities ol" tin* (Mujiirc counted sonu' 
three millions of jx'ople. The numluM- seems small to us ; but. 
it must be k(*])t in mind that the popiihdioii of the irorld iras 
mneh siiidlier then tJmn iioir, and that the Athenian empire was 
made up o\ cultured, weallh\', progressive communities. 

To be sui'c, slaves made a. lar^'c fraction of this [)Opulation. 
Attica itstdf contained about on(> tenth of tlu> inhabitants o{ tht» 
whole empire, perba|>s .'>0(),000 peopU* (about as many as live 
in Minn(*a.polis). (>f tlu>se, om* fourth W(>re slaves, and a 
sixth were aliens. This left somt» 17r>,0()0 citizens, of whom 
perhaps or>,0(H) wer(> men i\t for sol(li(M-s. ()utsidt> Attica, 
thtM-e were 75,000 nu>re citizens, \\\o elernelis (§ IIS\ whom 
l*eri(d(>s had s(>nt to uarrison ontlyiui^ parts of the empire. 

206. Colonies. The cleru(dis, nidike othiu- (Ireek colonists, 
kept all the ri>;hts o{ citi/enship. Tlu^v had their own local 
Assemblies, to niana,L;(» t he affairs of each colony. Hut t hey kept 
also their enrolbuent in the :\ttic denies and eoidd vote upon 
the afTairs of .Vthens and <.>f the empire thoinjh not niiles,'^ 



§ 2()S| TIIK I'OWKK OP ATHKNS 205 

tlu'ii ranw, t<t AtlwuH in, pcrHon. ''"'.y w<;n; in(jsi,ly I'rojn Uic, 
))()(>r(M- (;laHH(!H, and were, iiidiKM'.d lo j^o out to ili(; im^vv H(;tlJ(ui)cjit,H 
t)y tlic. j^if't; of" lands Kunici«;nt; to raiH<i tlujni at l<*aHt to tlic. 
(dasH of liop]it«!s ("§ I.'>7j. Konn; (topictd this jd;in a fM^ntury 
lator. (JtlMiiwisc^, ///« wurhi wan not to .vm (i(/a,in, ho tlhcnil <i. J'onri 
of colonization until the, Unitjul tStatas of Atncriai lnHfutt to 
onjit iii'/j'. " 'r<'rrltorl<'H.^^ 

207. Revenue. 'Idic (;ni|)ii<; vv;i,s ii(;h, and th<; niV(*nu«tH of 
tlic; gov(irnni(^nt wcic lar^M;, Joi- t}ios(; dayH. Atlmns drew a 
y<;arly inc,oni(; of aWout fonr liimdi(;d taI<^ritH ($400, 000 in our 
v;ilu<isj frojii \\(\v 'V\\v'.u;\;i\\ mines and froni tli<*, jx^rt dues and 
the taxes on ;ilien niercdiants. The tribute from tlie suhje,et 
eiti(;s amounf>ed to S(J()(),()00. This trihutcj was fairly assessejl, 
and it bore lightly iijion tlie ju-osjxu-ous (ir<;ek eommunitieH. 
7'///^ Asiatic (j/rack.H p(wl only one mxlli, an inncJt as they hod 

forincrbi p<u<l l*(U'Hla; and tlie tax was niu(di 1(;sh than it would 
have (jost thr* eiti<fs mendy t,o dedend themselveH aj^ainst 
pirat(;s, had Atln-nian |>i(jt(!etion been iemov(*d. 

Ind(;(;(i, the whole amount diawn fVoni th(i HuV)jeot cities 
would not ke(!p one hundred shijjs maniKid and equipped for a 
yttar, to say nothin^^ of building; them. VVlien we, rejuember 
the standing navy in th(j Ae^(tan and the ^re.at arnjaments tliat 
Athens sent refx-al^edly against Persia, it is [)lain that slie con- 
tinued to be.;ii- her full shaie, of the imjH-iial bui-den. She kept 
her (;mpir(; b<*.e,:uise. she. did not rob hei- <|e,pen<]encieH — as 
most <;m|jij'es had don(^, and w(.'re to do for tw(j thousand 
y(;ars long(;r. 

li. (ioVKItN'MKXT 

208. Steps in Development. — S(;v(^nty years liad passed Ix;- 
tw(;e.n th(i r(d'oi'ms of ('listhenes and tlie. true,e with Sparta. 
'I'he. main steps of pro^rtjss in ^(jvernment were fiv(^ 

Th(; (jfii(^e of (Jtinorol had ^rown gre.atly in imj>ortan(;e„ 
The AH.HfiwMi/ had e,xtend(;d its authority t<j all matters of 
^overnm(;nt, in j)rae,tiee as w(dl as in theory. 

Jury courtH f§ 211, bcdow; had gained importance. 



206 THE GREEKS — ATHENL\N LEADERSHIP [§208 

Tlie poorest citizens (§ 152) had beeu made eligible to 
office. 

T7ie state had begun to pay its citizens for j^ublic services. 




Map of Athens, with some structures of the Rotuau period. — The term 
" Stoa," which appears so ofteu iu this map, means "porch" or portico. 
These porticoes were inclosed by columns, and their fronts alons; the 
Agora formed a succession of colonnades. Only a few of the famous build- 
ings can be shown in a map like this. The " Agora " was the great public 
square, or open market place, surromided by shops and porticoes. It was 
the busiest s^K)t in Athens, the center of the commercial and social life of 
the city, where men met their friends for business or for pleasure. 

The constitution was not made over new at any one moment 
within this period, as it had been earlier, at the time of Solon 
and of Clisthenes. Indeed, the change was more in the spirit 
of the people tlian in the written law. The hrst three steps 
mentioned (^the increased power of the Generals and of the As- 



§ 210] GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS, HER EMPIRE 207 

sembly and jury courts) came altogether from a gradual change 
in practice. The other two steps had been brought about by 
piecemeal legislation. The guiding spirit in most of this de- 
velopment was Pericles. 

209. '' Generals " and '-Leaders of the People." — When Themis- 
tocles put through important measures, like the improve- 
ment of the Piraeus (§ 185), he held the office of Archon ; 
but when ( 'imon or Pericles guided the policy of Athens, 
they held the office of General. The Generals had become 
the administrators of the gocernment. It was usually they who 
2:)roposed to the Assembly the levy of troops, the building of 
ships, the raising of money, the making of peace or war. 
Then, when the Assembly decided to do any of these 
things, the Generals saw to the execution of them. They icere 
subject absolutely to the control of the Assembly, but they had 
great opportunities to influence it : they could call special 
meetings at will, and they had the right to speak whenever 
they wished. 

But any man had full right to try to persuade the Assembly, 
whether he held office or not ; and the more prominent speakers 
and leaders were known as " leaders of the people " (dema- 
gogues). Even though he held no office, a "leader of the 
people," trusted by the popular party, exercised a greater 
authority than any General could icithout that trust. To 
make things work smoothly, therefore, it was desirable that 
the P)oard of Generals should contain the " leader of the 
peojile" for the time being. Pericles was recognized " dema- 
gogue " for many years, and was usually elected each year 
president of the Board of Generals. 

210. The Assembly ^ met on the Pnyx,- a sloping hill whose 
side formed a kind of natural theater. There were forty 
regular meetings each year, and many special meetings. Thus 
a patriotic citizen was called upon to give at least one day a 
week to the state in this matter of political meetings alone. 

lOn the Assembly, there is an admirable treatment in Grant's Age of 
Pericles, 141-149. ^ See plan of Athens, page 20 . 



208 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§211 

The Assembly had become thoroughly democratic and had 
made great gains in power since Clisthenes' time. All public 
officials had become its obedient servants. The Council of Five 
Hundred (§ 152) existed not to guide it, but to do its bidding. 
The Generals were its creatures, and might be deposed by it any 
day. No act of government was too small or too great for it to 
deal with. The Assembly of Athens was to the greatest emjm'e of the 
ivorld in that day all, and more than all, that a Xew Engkmd town 
meeting ever ivas to its little town. It was as if the citizens of Boston 
cr Chicago were to meet day by day to govern the United States, 
and, at the same time, to attend to all their own local affairs. 

211. "Juries" of citizens were introduced by Solon, and 
their importance became fully developed under Pericles. Six 
thousand citizens were chosen by lot each year for this duty, 
from those who offered themselves for the service — mostl}*- 
the older men past the age for active work. One thousand 
of these were held in reserve. The others were divided into 
ten Jury courts of five hundred men each. 

The Assembly turned over the trial of officials to the 
juries. With a view to this duty, each juror took an oath 
"above all things to favor neither tyranny nor oligarchy, nor 
in any way to prejudice [injure] the sovereignty of the people." 
The juries also settled all disputes between separate cities 
of the empire; they were courts of appeal for important 
cases between citizens in a subject city ; and they were the 
ordinary law courts for Athenians. An Athenian jury 
was "both judge and jury": it decided each case by a ma- 
jority vote, and there ivas no appeal from its verdict. 

Thus these large bodies had not even the check that our small juries 
have in trained judijes to guide them. No doubt they gave many wrong 
verdicts. Passion and pity and bribery all interfered, at times, with even- 
handed justice ; but, on the whole, the system worked astonish im/Jy well. 
In particular, any citizen of a subject city was sure to get redress from 
these courts, if he had been wronged by an Athenian officer. And rich 
criminals found it quite as hard to bribe a majority of 500 jurors as such 
offenders find it among us to " influence " some judge to shield them with 
legal technicalities. 



§213] POLITICAL ABILITY 209 

212. State Pay. — Since these courts had so great weight, 
and since they tried political offenders, it was essential that 
they should not fall wholly into the hands of the rich. To 
prevent this, Pericles introduced a small payment for jury 
duty. The amount, three obols a day (about nine cents), would 
furnish a day's food for one person in Athens, but it would not 
support a family. 

Afterward, Pericles extended public payment to other po- 
litical services. Aristotle (a Greek writer a century or so 
later) says that some 20,000 men — over half the whole body 
of citizens — were constantly in the jjay of the state. Half 
of this number were soldiers, in garrisons or in the field. But, 
besides the 6000 jurymen, there were the 500 Councilmen, 
700 city officials,^ 700 more officials representing Athens 
throughout the empire, and many inferior state servants ; so 
that always f7'om a third to a fourth of the citizens tvere in the 
civil service.^ 

Pericles has been accused sometimes of " corrupting " the Athenians 
by the introduction of payment. But there is no proof that the Atheni- 
ans were corrupted ; and. further, such a system was inevitable when 
the democracy of a little city became the master of an empire. It was 
quite as natural and proper as is the payment of congressmen and judges 
with us. 

213. Athenian Political Ability. — Many of the offices in 
Athens could be held only once by the same man, so that each 
Athenian citizen could count upon serving his city at some time 
in almost every office. Politics was his occupation ; office- 
holding, his regular business. 

Such a system could not have worked without a high 
average of intelligence in the people. It did work well. 
With all its faults, the rule of Athens in Greece was 
vastly superior to the rude despotism that followed under 

1 Overseers of weights and measures, harbor inspectors, and so on. 

'^ Civil service is a term used in contrast to military service. Our post- 
masters are among the civil servants of the United States, as a city engineer 
or a fireman is in the city civil service. 



210 THE GREEKS — ATHENIAN LEADERSHIP [§214 

Sparta, or the anarchy under Thebes (§§ 253, 267). It gave 
to a large part of the Hellenic world a peace and security 
never enjoyed before, or after, until the rise of Roman power. 
Athens itself, moreover, was governed better and more gently 
than oligarchic cities like Corinth. 

" The Athenian democracy made a greater number of citizens fit to 
use power than could be made fit by any other system. . . . Tlie 
Assembly was an assembly of citizens — of average citizens without 
sifting or selection ; but it was an assembly of citizens among whom the 
political average stood higher than it ever did in any other state. . . . 
The Athenian, by constantly hearing questions of foreign policy and 
domestic administration argued by tlie greatest orators the world ever 
saw, received a political training which nothing else in the history of 
mankind lias been found to equal.'' ^ 

214. The Final Verdict upon the Empire. — It is easy to see 
that the Athenian system was imperfect, tried by our standard 
of government ; but it is more to the point to see that it was 
an advance over anything ever before attempted. 

It is to be regretted that Athens did not continue to admit 
aliens to citizenship, as in Clisthenes' day. It is to be 
regretted that she did not extend to the men of her snbject 
cities that sort of citizenship wdiich she did leave to her 
cleruchs. But the important thing is, that she had moved 
farther than had any other state up to this time. The admis- 
sion of aliens by Clisthenes and the cleruch citizenship (§ 206) 
were notable advances. TJie broadest i^oJicy of an age ought not 
to he condemned as narrow. 

215. Parties: A Summary. — A few words will review party his- 
tory up to the leadership of Pericles. All factions in Athens had united 
patriotically against Persia, and afterward in fortifying the city ; but the 
brief era of good feeling was followed by a renewal of party strife. The 
Aristocrats rallied around Cimon, while the two wings of the democrats 
were led at first, as before the invasion, by Aristides and Themistocles. 

1 Freeman's Federal Government. Read a spicy paragraph in Wheeler's 
Alexander the Great, IIG, 117. 



§216] PERICLES 211 

Themistocles was ostracized, and his friend Ephialtes became the leader 
of the extreme democrats. When Ephialtes was assassinated (§ 196), 
Pericles stepped into his place. 

216. Pericles. — The aristocratic party had been ruined by 
its pro-Spartan policy (§§ 197, 198). The two divisions of the 
democrats reunited, and for a quarter of a century Pericles 
was in practice as absohite as a dictator. Thucydides calls 
Athens during this period " a democracy in name, ruled in 
reality by its ablest citizen.'" 

Pericles belonged to the ancient nobility of Athens, but 
to families that had always taken the side of the people. His 
mother was the niece of Clisthenes the reformer, and his 
father had impeached Miltiades (§ 169), so that the enmity 
between Cimon and Pericles was hereditary. The supremacy 
of Pericles rested in no way upon the flattering arts of later 
popular leaders. His proud reserve verged on haughtiness, 
and he was rarely seen in public. He scorned to show emotion. 
His stately gravity and unruffled calm were styled Olympian 
by his admirers — who added that, like Zeus, he could on 
occasion overbear opjjosition by the majestic thunder of his 
oratory. 

The great authority of Pericles came :trom no public office. 
He was elected General, it is true, hfteen times, and in the 
board of ten generals, he had far more weight than any other 
had ; but this was because of his miofficial position as " leader 
of the people " (§ 209). General or not, he was master only so 
long as he could carry the Assembly with him ; and he was com- 
pelled to defend each of his measures against all who chose to 
attack it. The long and steady conhdence given him honors 
the people of Athens no less than it honors Pericles himself. 
His noblest praise is that which he claimed for himself 
upon his deathbed, — that, with all his authority, and despite 
the bitterness of party strife, "no Athenian has had to put on 
mourning because of me." 

Pericles stated his own policy clearly. As to the empire, 
he sought to make Athens at once the rider and the teacher of 



212 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 217 

Hellas, — the political imd intellectual center. Within the 
city itself, he wished the jjeople to ride, not nierel}^ in theory, 
but in fact, as the best means of training them for high 
responsibilities. 

C. Intklleotual and Artistic Athens 

217. The True Significance of Athens. — After all, in politics and 
war, Hellas has had superiors. Her true service to mankind and her 
imperishable glory lie in her literature, her philosophy, and her art. It 
was in the Athens of Pericles that these forms of Greek life developed most 
fully, and this fact makes the real meaning of that city in history. 

218. Architecture and Sculpture. — Part of the policy of Peri- 
cles was to adorn AtluMis fi-oni the surplus revenues of the 
empire. The injustice of this is plain; but the result was to 
make the city the most beautiful in the world, so that, ever 
since, her mere ruins have enthralled the admiration of men. 
Greek art was just reaching its perfection; and everywhere in 
Athens, under the charge of the greatest artists of this great- 
est artistic age, arose temples, colonnades, porticoes, — inimi- 
table to this day. 

" No description can give anything but a very inadequate idea of the 
splendor, the strength, the beauty, which met the eye of the Athenian, 
whether he walked round the fortifications, or tlirough the broad streets 
of the Piraeus, or along the Long Walls, or in the shades of the Acad- 
emy, or amidst the tombs of the Ceramicus ; whether he chaffered in the 
market place, or attended assemblies in the Pnyx. or loitered in one of 
the numerous porticoes, or watched the exercises in the (lymnasia, or lis- 
tened to music in the Odeum or j^lays in the theaters, or joined the throng 
of worshipers ascending to the great gateway of the Acropolis. And this 
magnificence was not the result of centuries of toil ; it loas the work of 
fifty 2jea7's. . . . Athens became a vast workshop, in which artisans of 
every kind found employment, all, in their various degrees, contributing 
to the execution of the plans of the master minds, Phidias, Ictinus, Calli- 
crates, Mnesicles, and others." — Abbott, Pericles, 308-308. 

The center of this architectural splendor was the ancient 
citadel of the Acropolis. That massive rock now became the 



§218] 



ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE 



213 




214 INTELLECTI'AL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 219 

" holy hill." Xo longer needed as a fortification, it was crowned 
with white marble, and devoted to religion and art. It was 
inaccessible except on the west. Here was built a stately 
stairway of sixty marble steps, leading to a series of noble 
colonnades and porticoes {the Propylaea) of surpassing beauty. 
From these the visitor emerged upon the leveled top of the 
Acropolis, to find himself surrounded by temples and statues, 
any one of which alone might make the fame of the proudest 




The Acropolis To-day. 

modern city. Just in front of the entrance stood the colossal 
bronze statue of Athene the Champion, whose broad spear point, 
glittering in the sun, was the first sign of the city to the mar- 
iner far out at sea. On the right of the entrance, and a little 
to the rear, was the temple of the Wingless Victory^; and near 
the center of the open space rose the larger structures of the 
Erechtheum - and the Parthenon. 

219. The Parthenon ("maiden's chamber") was the temple 
of the virgin goddess Athene. It remains absolutely peerless 
in its loveliness among the buildings of the world. It was in 
the Doric style,^ and of no great size, — only some 100 feet by 

1 See the illustration on page 163. 

2 A temple to Erechtheus, an ancestral god of Attica. See page 210. 

3 See § 154 for explanation of this and other terms used in this description. 
See also pages 100, 102, 216, 225, for illustrations of the Parthenon. 



219] 



THE PARTHENON 



215 



250, while the marble pillars supporting its low pediment rose 
only 34 feet from their base of three receding steps. The ef- 
fect was due, not to the sublimity and grandeur of vast masses, 
but to the perfection of proportion, to exquisite beauty of line, 
and to the delicacy and profusion of ornament. On this struc- 
ture, indeed, was lavished without stint the highest art of the 




Propylaea of the Acropolis To-day. 



art capital of all time. The fifty life-size and colossal statues 
in the pediments, and the four thousand square feet of smaller 
reliefs in the frieze were all finished with perfect skill, even 
in the unseen parts. The frieze represents an Athenian pro- 
cession, carrying offerings to the patron goddess Athene at 
the greatest religious festival of Athens. Nearly 500 different 
figures were carved upon this frieze.^ As with all Greek tem- 

1 These reliefs are now for the most part in the British Mviseum and are 
often referred to as the Elgin Marbles, from the fact that Lord Elgin secured 
them, shortly after 1800, for the English government. The student can judge 
of the original position of part of the sculpture on the huilding from the illus- 
tration of the Parthenon on page 225. The frieze within the colonnade 



216 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§220 

pies, the bands of stone above the columns were painted in 
brilliant reds and blues ; and the faces of the sculptures were 
tinted in lifelike hues. 

In Christian times the Parthenon became a church of the B. V. Mary. 
The Turks changed it into a mosque. During a siege they kept large 
stores of powder in it. In 1687 an enemy's cannon ball exploded the 
magazine, blowing the temple into ruins, much as we see them to-day. 




Erechtheum (foi-eground) and Parthenon. This view gives the contrast 
between the delicacy of the Ionic style and the simple dignity of the Doric 
Cf. § 154. 



220. Phidias. — The ornamentation of the Parthenon, within 
and without, was cared for by Phidias and his pupils. Phidias 
still ranks as the greatest of sculptors. ^ Much of the work on 
the Acropolis he merely planned, but the great statues of 

(§ 154) cannot be shown in this picture. It was a band of relief, about four 
feet in width, running entirely around the temple. 

1 Phidias has been rivaled, if at all, only by his pupil, Praxiteles. The 
Hermes of Praxiteles is one of the few great works of antiquity that survive 
to us. See page 258. 



220] 



THE PARTHENON 



217 



Athene were his special work. The bronze statue has already 
been mentioned. Besides this, there was, ivithin the temple, 
an even more glorious statue in gold and ivory, smaller than 
the other, but still live or six times larger than life.^ Profes- 
sor Mahaffy has said of all this Parthenon sculpture : — 

" The beauty and perfection of all the invisible parts are such that the 
cost of labor and money must have been enormous. There is no show 












^J^^^^^^ 







FuiUKKS FKOM THK PARTHENON FUIKZK. 

whatever for much of this extraordinary finish, which can only be seen 
by going on the roof or by opening a wall. Yet the religiousness of the 
unseen work - has secured that what is seen shall be perfect with no 
ordinary perfection." 

1 These two works divide the honor of Phidias' great fame with his Zeus 
at Olympia, which, in the opinion of the ancients, surpassed all other sculpture 
in grandeur. Phidias said that he plaimed the latter work, thinking of 
Homer's Zeus, at the nod of whose ambrosial locks Olympus trembled. 

2 Compare Longfellow's lines, — 

" In the older days of art, 
Builders wrought, with utmost care, 
Each obscure and unseen part, — 
For the gods see everywhere." 



218 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 221 



221. The Drama. — In the age of Pericles, the chief form of 
poetry became the tragic drama — the highest development of 

Greek literature. As 

the tenth century was 
the epic age, and the 
seventh and sixth 
the lyric (§ 155), so 
the fifth century be- 
gins the dramatic 
period. 

The drama began in 
the songs and dances 
of a chorus in honor 
of Dionysus, god of 
wine, at the spring 
festival of flowers and 
at the autumn vintage 
festival. The leader 
of the chorus came at 
length to recite stories, 
between the songs. 
Thespis (§ 146) at 
Athens, in the age of 
Pisistratus, had de- 
veloped this leader 
into an actor, — aj)art 
from the chorus a)id 
carrying on dialogue 
with it. Now Aeschy- 
lus added another 
actor, and his younger 
rival, Sophocles, a 
third.i Aeschylus, Sophocles, and their successor, Euripides, 
are the three greatest Greek dramatists. Together they pro- 

1 The Greek tragedy never permitted more than three actors upon the 
stage at one time. The Greek drama cannot be compared easily with the 




Sophocles — a portrait-statue, now in the 
Lateran Museum at Rome. 



§222] THE GREEK THEATER 219 

duced some two hundred plays, of which thirty-one survive. 
Their Dlays were all tragedies. 

Comedy also grew out of the worship of the wine god, — not 
from the great religious festivals, however, but from the rude 
village merrymakings. Even upon the stage, comedy kept 
traces of this rude origin in occasional coarseness; and it was 




Theater <)i< i>i(»>'^M8 — present condition. 

sometimes misused, to abuse men like Pericles and Socrates. 
Still, its great master, Aristophanes, for his wit and genius, 
must always remain one of the bright names in literature. 
222. The Theater. — Every Greek city had its "theaters." 
A theater was a semicircular arrangement of rising seats, 
often cut into a hillside, with a small stage at the open side of 
the circle for the actors. There was no inclosed building, ex- 
cept sometimes a few rooms for the actors, and there was 

modern. Sophocles and Shakespeare differ somewhat as the Parthenon differs 
from a vast cathedral. In a Greek play the scene never changed, and all the 
action had to be such as could have taken place in one day. That is, the 
"unities" of time and place were strictly preserved, while the small num- 
ber of actors made it easy to maintain also a " unity of action." 



220 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC^ ATHENS [§223 

none of the gorgeous stage scenery which has become a chief 
feature of our theaters. Neither did the Greek theater 
run every night. Performances took place at only two periods 
in the year — at the spring and autumn festivals to Diony- 
sus — for about a week each season ; and the performance of 
course had to be in the daytime. 

The great Theater of Dionysus, in Athens, was on the south- 
east slope of the Acropolis — the rising seats, cut in a semicircle 
into the rocky bluff, looking forth, beyond the stage, to the hills 
of southern Attica and over the blue waters of the Aegean. 
It could seat almost the whole free male population.^ 

Pericles secured from the public treasury the admission fee 
to the Theater for each citizen who chose to ask for it. This 
use of " theater money " was altogether different from the 
payment of officers and jurors. It must be kept in mind 
that the Greek stage was the modern pidpit and press in 
one. The practice of free admission was designed to advance 
religious and intellectual training, rather than to give amuse- 
ment. It was a kind of pnblic education for groivn-up people. 

223. Oratory was highly developed. Among no other people 
has public speaking been so important and so effective. Its 
special home was Athens. For almost two hundred years, 
from Themistocles to Demosthenes (§ 272), great statesmen 
swayed the Athenian state by the power of sonorous and thrill- 
ing eloquence ; and the emotional citizens, day after day, packed 
the Pnyx to hang breathless for hours upon the persuasive lips 
of their leaders. The art of public speech was studied zeal- 
ously by all who hoped to take part in public affairs. 

Unhappily, Pericles did not preserve his orations. The one 
quoted below (§ 229) seems to have been recast by Thucydides 
in his own style. But fortunately we do still have many of 
the orations of Demosthenes, of the next century ; and from 
them we can understand how the union of fiery passion, and 

1 The stone seats were not carved out of the hill until somewhat later. 
During the a.ije of Pericles, the men of Athens sat on the ground, or on stools 
which they brought with them, all over the hillside. 



225] 



HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY 



221 



convincing logic, and polished beauty of language, made oratory 
rank with the drama and with art as the great means of public 
education for Athenians. 

224. History Prose literature now appears, with history 

as its leading form. The three great historians of the period are 
Herodotus, Thucydides, 

and Xe?AOj)/io/i. For charm 
in story-telling they have 
never been excelled. 
Herodotus was a native of 
Halicarnassus (a city of 
Asia Minor). He traveled 
widely, lived long at 
Athens as the friend of 
Pericles, and finally in 
Italy composed his great 
Hf story of the Persian 
Wars, with an introduc- 
tion covering the w^orld's 
history up to that event. 
Thucydides, an Athenian 
general, wrote the history 
of the Peloponnesian War 
(§§ 241 ff.) in which he 
took part. Xenophon be- 
longs rather to the next 
century. He also was an 

Athenian. He completed the story of the Peloponnesian 
War, and gave us, with other works, the Anabasis, an account 
of the expedition of the Ten Thousand Greeks through the 
Persian empire in 401 b.c. (§ 257). 

225. Philosophy.^ — The age of Pericles saw also a rapid 
""development in philosophy, — and this movement, too,, had 

Athens for its most important home. Anaxagoras of Ionia, 

1 This section can best be read in class, and talked over. It may well be 
preceded by a reading of § 15G upon the earlier Greek philosophy. 




Thucydides. 

A portrait bust ; now in the Capitoline 
Museum at Rome. 



222 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 225 

the friend of Pericles, taught that the ruling principle in the 
universe was Mind: "In the beginning all things were chaos; 
then came Intelligence, and set all in order." He also tried to 
explain comets and other strange natural phenomena, which 
had been looked upon as miraculous. 

But, like Democritus and Empedocles of the same period, 
Anaxagoras turned in the main from the old question of a 
fundamental principle to a new problem. The philosophers 
of the sixth century had tried to answer the question, — How 
did the universe come to be ? The philosophers of the age of 
Pericles asked mainly, — How does man know about the uni- 
verse ? That is, they tried to explain the ivorking of the human 
mind. These early attempts at explanation were not very 
satisfactory, and so next came the Sophists, with a skeptical 
philosophy. Man, the Sophists held, cannot reach truth itself, 
but must be content to know only ai^pearances. They taught 
rhetoric, and were the first of the philosophers to accept pay.^ 

Socrates, the founder of a new philosophy, is sometimes con- 
founded with the Sophists. Like them, he abandoned the 
attempt to understand the material universe, and ridiculed 
gently the attempted explanations of his friend, Anaxagoras. 
He took for his motto, " Know thyself and considered philoso- 
phy to consist in right thinking upon human conduct. True 
wisdom, he taught, is to know what is good and to do what is 
right; and he tried to make his followers see the difference 
between justice and injustice, temperance and intemperance, 
virtue and vice. 

Thus Socrates completes the circle of ancient philosophy. The whole 
development may be summed up briefly, as follows : -^ 

1. Thales and his followers (§ 156) tried to find out how the world came 
to be — out of what " first principle " it arose (water, fire, etc.). 

1 Thus these philosophers were accused of advertising for gain, to teach 
youth "how to make the worse appear the better reason," and the name 
"sophist" received an evil significance. Many of the Sophists, however, 
were brilliant thinkei's, who did much to clear away old mental rubbish. The 
most famous were Gorgias, the rhetorician, a Sicilian Greek at Athens, and 
his pupil, Isocrates. 



§ 227] SOCRATES 223 

2. Anaxagoras and his contemporaries tried to find out how man's 

mind couhl understand the outside world. (His teaching that 
mind was the real principle of the universe formed a natural 
step from 1 to 2.) 

3. The Sophists declared all search for such explanations a failure — 

beyond the power of the human mind. 

4. Socrates sought to know, not about the outside world at all, but 

about himself and his duties. 

226. The Man Socrates. — Socrates was a poor man, an artisan 
who carved little images of the gods for a living ; and he con- 
stantly vexed his wife, Xanthippe, by neglecting his trade, to 
talk in the market place. He wore no sandals, and dressed 
meanly. His large bald head and ugly face, with its thick 
lips and flat nose, made him good sport for the comic poets. 
His practice was to entrap unwary antagonists into public con- 
versation by asking^ innocent-iooking questions, and then, by 
the inconsistencies of their answers, to show how shallow their 
opinions were. This proceeding afforded huge merriment to 
the crowd of youths who followed the bare-footed philosopher, and 
it made him bitter enemies among his victims. But his method 
of argument (which we still call " the Socratic method ") was 
a permanent addition to our intellectual weapons ; and his 
beauty of soul, his devotion to knowledge, and his largeness 
of spirit make him the greatest name in Greek history. When 
seventy years old (399 b.c.) he was accused of impiety and of 
corrupting the youth. He refused to defend himself in any 
ordinary way, and was therefore declared guilty. His accusers 
then proposed a death penalty. It was the privilege of the 
condemned man to propose any other penalty, and let the jury 
choose between the two. Instead of proposing a considerable 
fine, as his friends wished, Socrates said first that he really 
ought to propose that he be maintained in honor at the public 
expense, but, in deference to his friends' entreaties, he finally 
proposed a small fine. The angered jury, by a close vote, pro- 
nounced the death penalty. 

227. Socrates on Obedience to Law and on Immortality. — 
Socrates refused also to escape before the day for his execution. 



224 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTLSTIC ATHENS [§ 22V 

Friends had made arrangements for his escape, but he answered 
their earnest entreaties by a playful discourse, of which the 
substance was, — " Death is no evil ; but for Socrates to ' play 
truant,' and injure the laws of his country, would be an evil." 
After memorable conversations upon immortality, he drank 
the fatal hemlock with a gentle jest npon his lips.^ His 
execution is the greatest blot upon the intelligence of the 
Athenian democracy. 

It happened that the trial had taken place just before 
the annual sailing of a sacred ship to Delos to a festival of 
Apollo. According to Athenian law, no execution could take 
place until the return of this vessel. Thus for thirty days, 
Socrates remained in jail, conversing daily in his usual manner 
with groups of friends who visited him. Two of his disciples 
(Plato and Xeno})hou) have given us accounts of these talks. 
On the last day, the theme was immortality.' Some of the friends 
fear that death may be an endless sleep, or that the soul, on 
leaving the body, may " issue forth like smoke . . . and vanish 
into nothingness." But Socrates comforts and consoles them, — 
convincing them, by a long day's argument, that the soul is 
immortal, and })icturing the lofty delight he anticipates in 
a])plying his Socratic questionings to the heroes and sages of 
olden times, when he meets them soon in the abode of the 
blest. Then, just as the fatal hour arrives, one of the company 
(Crito) asks, " In what way would you have us bury you ? " 
Socrates rejoins : — 

" ' In any way you like : only you must first get hold of me, and take 
care that I do not walk away from you.' Then he turned to us, and 
added, with a smile : ' I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same 
Socrates who has been talking with you. He fancies that I am another 
Socrates whom he will soon see a dead body — and he asks, How shall he 
bury me? I have spoken many words to show that I shall leave you and 
go to the joys of the blessed ; but these words, with which I comforted 
you, have had, I see, no effect upon Crito. And so I want you to be 



1 Special report: the trial and death of Socrates. See Plato's Apology, 
Xenophou's MemorabUia, and other accounts. 



§ 228] SUMMARY 225 

surety for me now, as Crito was surety [bail] for me at my trial, — but 
with another sort of promise. For he promised the judges that I would 
remain ; but you must be my surety to him that I shall not remain. Then 
he will not be grieved when he sees merely my body burned or buried, I 
would not have him sorrow at my lot, or say, Thus we follow Socrates to 
the grave ; for false words such as these infect the soul. Be of good 
cheer, then, my dear Crito, and say that you are burying my body only — 
and do with that what is usual, or as you think best.' " ^ 

228. Summary. - The amazing extent and intensity of Athenian 
culture overpower the imagination. With few exceptions, the 




The Acropolis, as *' restored " by Lambert. 

famous men mentioned in §§ 220-225 were Athenian citizens. 
In the fifth century B.C. that one city gave birth to more great 
men of the first rank, it has been said, than the tchole ivorld has 
ever produced in any other equal 'period of time. 

Artists, philosophers, and writers swarmed to Athens, also, 
from less-favored parts of Hellas ; for, despite the condemnation 
of Socrates, no other city in the world afforded such freedom 
of thought, and nowhere else was ability, in art or literature, 

1 Anecdotes of Socrates are given in 'Ddi.vis^ Readings , Vol. I, Nos. 89-92. 



226 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 229 

so appreciated. The names that have been mentioned give 
but a faint impression of the splendid throngs of brilliant poets, 
artists, philosophers, and orators, who jostled each other in 
the streets of Athens. This, after all, is the best justification 
of the Athenian democracy. Abbott {History of Greece, II, 415), 
one of its sternest modern critics, is forced to exclaim, " Never 
before or since has life developed so richly as it developed in 
the beautiful city which lay at the feet of the virgin goddess." ^ 
229. The Tribute of Pericles to Athens. — The finest glorification 
of the Athenian spirit is contained in the great funeral oration 
delivered by Pericles over the Athenian dead, at the close of 
the second year of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides gives 
the speech and represents no doubt the ideas, if not the words, 
of the orator : — 

" And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits many 
relaxations from toil. We have our regular games and sacrifices through- 
out the year ; at home the style of our life is refined, and the delight 
which we daily feel in all these things helps to banish melancholy. Be- 
cause of the greatness of our city, the fruits of the whole earth flow in 
upon us ; so that we enjoy the goods of other countries as freely as of 
our own. . . . 

" And in the matter of education, whereas our adversaries from early 
youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which are to make them 
brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face the perils which 
they face. ... If then we prefer to meet danger with a light heart but 
without laborious training, and with a courage whicli is gained by habit 
and not enforced by law, are we not greatly the gainers ? 

" We are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes; and we culti- 
vate the mind without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for 
talk and ostentation, but when there is a real use for it. To avow 
poverty with us is no disgrace ; the true disgrace is in doing nothing to 
avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he 
takes care of his own household ; and even those of us who are engaged 
in business have a very fair idea of politics. We alone regard a man 
who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a harmless, but as a use- 
less character. . . . 

1 The patron deity of Athens was Pallas Athene, the virgin goddess, whose 
temple, the Parthenon, crowned the Acropolis. 



§ 230] LIMITATIONS 227 

"In the hour of trial Athens alone is superior to the report of her. 
No enemy who comes against her is indignant at the reverses which he 
sustains at the hands of such a city ; no subject complains that his 
masters are unworthy of him. And we shall assuredly not be without 
witnesses. There are mighty monuments of our power which will make 
us the wonder of this and of succeeding ages. . . . For we have com- 
pelled every land and every sea to open a path for our valor, and have 
everywhere planted eternal memorials of our friendship and of our 
enmity. . . . 

"To sum up : I say that Athens is the school of Hellas, and that the 
individual Athenian in his own person seems to have the power of adapt- 
ing himself to the most varied forms of action with the utmost versatility 
and grace. . . . 

'■'■ I looiild have you day by day fix your eyes upon the greatness of 
Athens, until you become filled with the love of her ; and when you are 
impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been 
acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do it, and 
who in the hour of conflict had the fear of dishonor always present to 
them. . . ." 

230. Three limitations in Greek culture must be noted. 

a. It rested necessarily on slavery, and consequently could 
not honor labor, as modern culture at least tries to do. The 
main business of the citizen was government and war. 
Trades and commerce were left largely to the free non-citizen 
class, and unskilled hand labor was performed mainly by 
slaves. As a rule, it is true, this slavery was not harsh. In 
Athens, ordinarily, the slaves were hardly to be distinguished 
from the poorer citizens. They were frequently Greeks, of 
the same speech and culture as their masters. In some ways, 
this made their lot all the harder to bear; and there was 
always the possibility of cruelty. In the mines, even in 
Attica, the slaves were killed off brutally by merciless 
hardships. 

b. Greek culture tvas for males only. It is not probable that 
the wife of Phidias or of Thucydides could read. The women 
of the working classes, especially in the country, necessarily 
mixed somewhat with men in their work. But among the 
well-to-do, women had lost the freedom of the simple and rude 



228 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 230 

society of Homer's time, without gaining much in return. Ex- 
cept at Sparta, where physical training was thought needful 




Women at their Toilet. — From a vase painting. 

for them, they passed a secluded life even at home, in sepa- 
rate women's apartments. They had no public interests, ap- 




Women at their Toilet. — The rest of the vase painting shown above. 

peared rarely on the streets, and never met their husbands' 
friends. At best, they were only higher domestic servants. 
The chivalry of the mediaeval knight toward woman and the 



230] 



LIMITATIONS 



229 




love and respect of the C'liristian man in general for his wife 
were equally unthinkable by the best Greek society. 

This rule is merely emphasized by its one exception. No 
account of the Athens of Pericles would be complete without 
the mention of Aspasia. She was a native of Miletus and came 
to Athens as a perfect stranger. But she succeeded in winning 
the love of Pericles. He married her, though being a foreigner 
she could not figure as his wife before the Athenian Law. Her 
dazzling beauty and 
wit made his house 
the focus of a large 
circle of prominent 
men. Anaxagoras, 
Socrates, Phidias, 
Herodotus, the charm- 
ing group of brilliant 
friends of Pericles, 
delighted in her con- 
versation. Pericles 
consulted her on the 
most important public matters. But she is almost the only 
woman who need be named in Greek history. 

c. The most intellectual Greeks of that age had not thought 
of finding out the truths of nature by experiment. The ancients 
had chiefly such knowledge of the world about them as they had 
chanced upon, or such as they could attain by observation of 
nature as she showed herself to them. To ask questions, and 
make nature answer them by systematic experiment, is a 
method of reaching knowledge which in its widest develop- 
ment belongs to later times. But, before the Greeks, men had 
reached about all the mastery over nature that was possible 
without that method. 

This limitation had a remarkable consequence, namely the 
simplicity, nay almost complete absence, of those material com- 
forts which rest upon the many inventions and discoveries of 
later centuries. There were no railroads nor telegraphs — not 



Greek Women at their Music 
From a vase painting. 



230 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§ 231 

to speak of wireless communication — no electric or gas lights, 
no refrigerator cars or even ice boxes. Even the best houses 
were without plumbing or drains of any sort ; beds without 
sheets or springs ; rooms without fire ; traveling without 
bridges ; clothes without buttons or even a hook and eye. 
The Greek had to tell time without a watch, and to cross the 
seas without a compass. 

This fact, however, is rather instructive than bewildering. 
There is a higher civilization, more essential than merely 
material achievements. A band of robbers is not civilized, if it 
uses a train of automobiles or establishes telephonic connec- 
tion between its various headquarters. The Greeks excelled in 
intellectual civilization, which has a much nobler claim, because 
of its nearer relation to man's spiritual nature. For hours the 
entire population of Greek cities could listen to and enjoy such 
high class drama as those of the Hellenic masters. In our days 
only the educated are able to appreciate these plays. The 
average Athenian no doubt excelled the average man of our 
times in brain power, and the Greek mind performed wonders 
in literature and art and philosophy. It is through features 
like these that Greek life has had such a lasting influence upon 
all later ages. 

The lack of control over nature had another serious draw- 
back. Without our modern scientific knowledge and modern 
machinery it had never been possible for man to produce 
wealth fast enough so that many could take sufficient leisure 
for refined and graceful living. Even with us this ability is 
not accompanied by a proper distribution of our wealth, too 
much of which remains in the hands of a proportionately 
small number. In the Greek system it seems to have been 
still less possible to give to many an ample share. There was 
too little to go round. The material civilization of the rela- 
tively few rested necessarily on slavery. 

231. The Moral Side of Greek civilization falls considerably 
short of the intellectual. The two religions, of the clan and 
of the Olympian gods, both kept their hold upon the people 



§232] MORAL IDEALS 231 

even in the age of Pericles. But neither had much to do with 
moral conduct. The good sense and clear thinking of the 
Greeks had preserved their religion, whatever they understood 
by this term, from many of the repulsive features found in 
Oriental beliefs. But their moral ideas are to be sought 
rather in their philosophy, literature, and history than in their 
mythological stories. In fact they could learn little morality 
from the example given to them by the Olympians (§ 111). 

The Greeks accepted a rather unlimited search for pleasures 
as natural and proper. Self-sacrifice had little place in their 
moral code. They lacked altogether the Jewish and Christian 
sense of sin. Even the Babylonians were far ahead of them 
in this matter (§ 53). Their chief motive for right conduct, as 
far as it Avent, was a certain admiration, based on natural 
grounds, of moderation and temperance. Individual char- 
acters at once lofty and lovable were not numerous. Trickery 
and deceit mark most of the greatest names, and not even 
physical or moral bravery can be called a national character- 
istic. The wily Themistocles, rather than Socrates or Pericles, 
is the typical Greek. As in literature and arts so in moral 
corruption were the Greeks the teachers of Eome. In beautiful 
Hellas grew up that degradation which in due time was to 
spread along the shores of the Mediterranean. It was to 
reach maturity when adopted by the future masters of the 
world. 

At the same time some Greek teachers inculcate morality. 
They found in themselves the courage to listen to the voice of 
their conscience and to assert what they saw was right. They 
may have caught the dim rays of original revelation, or ob- 
tained inspiration from the sacred books of the Jews. Yet none 
of these men in any way reached the Jewish and Christian 
ideals. 

232. Illustrative Extracts. — The following passages illustrate the 
moral ideas of the best of the Greeks. They are taken from Athenian 
writers of the age of Pericles, and represent the mountain peaks of Greek 
thought, by no means its average level. 



232 INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC ATHENS [§232 

a. From Aeschylus. 

" The lips of Zeus know not to speak a lying speech." 

" Justice shines in smoke-grimed houses and holds in regard the life 
that is righteous ; she leaves with averted eyes the gold-bespangled palace 
which is unclean, and goes to the abode that is holy." 

h. Antigone, the heroine of a play by Sophocles, has knowingly in- 
curred penalty of death by disobeying an unrighteous command of a 
wicked king. She justifies her deed proudly, — 

" Nor did I deem thy edicts strong enough 
That thou, a mortal man, should'st overpass 
The unwritten laws of God that knoio no change.'' 

c. From Socrates to his Judges after his condemnation to death 
(Plato's Apology). — "Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about 
death, and know this of a truth — that no evil can happen to a good man, 
either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods. 
. . . The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways — 1 to die, 
you to live. Which is better, God only knows." 

d. From Plato (the greatest disciple of Socrates, § 315). — " My coun- 
sel is that we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow justice and 
virtue. . . . Thus we shall live dear to one another and to the gods, 
both while remaining here, and when, like conquerors in the games, we 
go to receive our reward." 

e. A Prayer of Socrates (from Plato's Phaedrus). — "Beloved Pan, 
and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward 
soul ; and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon 
the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as 
none but the temperate can carry." 

(The quotations from Socrates' tallvs after his condemnation, given in 
§ 227 above, give more material of this kind. Fuller passages will be 
found in Davis' Headings, Vol. I, Nos. 89-92.) 



For Further Reading. — Specially suggested : Davis' Readings, 
Vol. 1, Nos. 76-80 (11 pages, mostly from Plutarch and Thucydides) ; 
and Nos. 88-97 (24 pages) ; Bury, 363-378. 

Additional : Valuable and very readable treatments will be found in 
any of the three excellent volumes mentioned for the two preceding 
topics, — Cox's Athenian Empire. Plutarch's Pericles ought to be in- 
viting, from the extracts in Davis' Readings. 



§232] MORAL IDEALS 233 

Exercise. — Count up and classify the kinds of sources of our knowl- 
edge about the ancient world, —so far as this book has alluded to sources 
of information. Note here the suggestions for ^'■fact-drills,''^ on page 299, 
and begin to prepare the lists. 



CHAPTER XIV 

LIFE IN THE AGE OF PERICLES 

233. Houses, even those of the rich, were very simple. The 
poor could not afford more ; and the rich man thought his 
house of little account. It was merely a place to keep his 
women folk and young children and some other valuable 
property, and to sleep in. His real life was passed outside. 

A "well-to-do" house was built with a wooden frame, cov- 
ered with sun-dried clay. Such buildings have not left many 
remains ; and most of what we know about them comes from 
brief references in Greek literature. On the opposite page is 
given the ground plan of one of the few private houses of the 
fifth century which has been unearthed in a state to be traced 
out. This house was at Delos ; and it was something of a 
mansion, for the times. 

Houses were built flush with the street, and on a level with 
it, — without even sidewalk or steps between. The door, too, 
usually opened out — so that passers-by were liable to bumps, 
unless they kept well to the middle of the narrow street. 
In this Delos mansion, the street door opened into a small 
vestibule (A), about six feet by ten. This led to a square 
" hall " (D, D, D, D), which was the central feature of every 
Greek house of importance. In the center of the hall there 
was always a " court," ojjen to the sky, and surrounded by a 
row of columns. The columns were to uphold their side of 
the hall ceiling, — since the hall had no wall next the court, 
but was divided from it only by the columns. In the Delos 
house, the columns were ten feet high (probably higher than 
was usual), and the court was paved with a beautiful mosaic. 
Commonly, however, all floors in private houses, until some 
three centuries later, were made of concrete. 

234 



233] 



THE GREEK HOUSE 



235 



Under part of the hall were two cellars or cisterns ; and 
from the hall there opened six more rooms. The largest {H) 
was the dining room and kitchen, with a small recess for the 
chimney in one corner. The other rooms were store rooms, 
or sleeping rooms for male slaves and unmarried sons. Any 
occasional overflow of guests could be taken care of by couches 
in the hall. This whole floor was for males only. 




H 



w^ 



D 



000,01 







, © I 


Lj iUJ [ 


Q '-^ Ol 



D ^ ti 



D 




Plan of a Fifth-century Delos House. 
After Gardiner and Jevons. 



Some houses (of the very rich) had only one story. In that 
case there was at the rear a second half for the women, con- 
nected with the men's half by a door in the partition walL 
This rear half of the house, in such cases, had its own central 
hall and open court, and an arrangement of rooms similar to 
that in the front half. But more commonly, as in the Delos 
house, there was an upper story for the women, reached by 
a steep stairway in the lower hall, and projecting, perhaps, 
part way over the street. Near the street door, on the outside, 
there was a niche in the wall for the usual statue of Hermes ; 
and a small niche in room F was used probably as a shrine for 
some other deity. 

The doorways of the interior were usually hung with cur- 



236 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§234 

tains ; but store rooms had doors with bronze locks. Bronze 
keys are sometimes found in the ruins, and they are pictured 
in use in vase paintings. The door between the men's and 
women's apartments was kept locked: only the master of 
the house, his wife, and j^erhaps a trusted slave, had keys to 
it. The Delos house had only one outside door; but often 
there was a rear door into a small, walled garden. City 
houses were crowded close together, with small chance for 
windows on the sides. Sometimes narrow slits in the wall 
opened on the street. Otherwise, except for the one door, the 
street front was a blank wall. If there were windows on the 
street at all, they were filled with a close wooden lattice. 
The Greeks did not have glass panes for windows. The 
houses were dark ; and most of the dim light came from 
openings on the central court, through the hall. 

In cold damp weather (of which, happily, there was not much), 
the house was exceedingly uncomfortable. The kitchen had 
a real chimney, with cooking arrangements like those in an- 
cient Cretan houses (§ 96). But for other rooms the only 
artificial heat came from small fires of wood or charcoal in 
braziers, — such as are still carried from room to room, on occa- 
sion, in Greece or Italy or Spain. The choking fumes Avliich 
filled the room were not much more desirable than the cold 
which they did little to drive away. Sometimes a large open 
fire in the court gave warmth to the hall. At night, earthen- 
ware lamps, on shelves or brackets, furnished light. There 
were no bathrooms, and no sanitary conveniences. 

Poor people lived in houses of one or two rooms. A middle 
class had houses nearly as large as the one described above ; 
but they rented the upper story to lodgers. Professional lodg- 
ing houses had begun to appear, with several stories of small 
rooms, for unmarried poor men and for slaves who could not 
find room in the master's house. 

234. The residence streets were narrow and irregular, — 
hardly more than crooked, dark alleys. They had no pave- 
ment, and they were littered with all the filth and refuse 



§235] GREEK FAMILY LIFE 237 

from the houses. Slops, from upper windows, sometimes 
doused unwary passers-by. Splendid as were the public por- 
tions of Athens, the residence quarters were much like a 
squalid Oriental city of to-day. In the time of Pericles, 
wealthy men were just beginning to build more comfortably 
on the hills near the city; but war kept this practice from 
becoming common till a much later time. 





W 


m 


!■ 




^^^^W f 

^^L^,/-^ 


i 




mM 


H 


i 


^H 


Vm 


^1 


■ 


^^^H 



Greek Girls at Play. — From a vase paintiug. 

235. The Family. — In the Oriental lands which we have 
studied, a man was at liberty to have as many wives in his 
household as he chose to support. Poor men usually were 
content with one ; but, among the rich, polygamy was the rule. 
A Greek had only one wife. Imperfect as Greek family life 
was, the state laws recognized " monogamous " marriages only. 

The Homeric poems give many pictures of lovely family 
life ; and the Homeric women meet male guests and strangers 
with a natural dignity and ease. In historic Greece, as we 
have noted (§ 230), this freedom for women had been lost — 
except, in some degree, at Sparta. Marriage was arranged by 
parents. The young people as a rule had never seen each 
other. Girls were married very young — at fifteen or earlier 



238 THE AGE OF PERICLES [§235 

— and had no training of any valuable sort. Among the 
wealthy classes, they spent the rest of their days indoors — 
except on some rare festival occasions. The model wife 
learned to oversee the household ; but in many homes this was 
left to trained slaves, and the wife dawdled away the day list- 
lessly at her toilet or in vacant idleness. The vase pictures 
show her commonly with a mirror. Unwholesome living led 
to excessive use of red and white paint, and other cosmetics, 
to imitate the complexion of early youth. 

Law and public opinion allowed the father to " expose " a 
new-born child to die. This horrible practice of legalized 
murder was common among the poor. Boys, however, were 
valued more than girls. They would offer sacrifices, in time, 
at the father's tomb, arid they could fight for the city. Divorce 
was lawful, and the husband easily found a sufficient plea for 
it. With the Greeks, too, matrimony had fallen far from its 
original perfection. 

Till the age of seven, boys and girls lived together in the 
women's apartments. Then the boy began his school life 
(§ 240). The girl continued her childhood until marriage. 
Much of her time was spent at music and in games. One very 
common game was like our " Jackstones," except that it was 
played with little bones. Not till the evening before her mar- 
riage did the girl put away her doll, — offering it then solemnly 
on the shrine of the goddess Artemis. These laws and customs 
obtained more or less in all Greece. The views and usages of 
Sparta, however, differed from them in many regards (§ 130). 

236. Greek dress is well known, as to its general effect, from 
pictures and sculpture. Women of the better classes wore 
flowing garments, fastened at the shoulders with clasp-pins, 
and gathered in graceful loose folds at the waist. Outside the 
house, the woman wore also a kind of long mantle, which was 
often drawn up over the head. 

The chief article of men's dress was a shirt of linen or 
wool, which fell about to the knees. For active movements, 
this was often clasped with a girdle about the waist. Over 



237] 



GREEK DRESS 



239 



this was draped a long mantle, falling in folds to the feet. 
This is well shown in the statue of Sophocles, on page 214. 
Sometimes, this mantle was carried on the arm. The soles 
of the feet were commonly protected by sandals; but there 
was also a great variety of other foot gear. Socrates' habit 
of going barefooted was the rule at Sparta for men under 
middle age; and some Spartan kings made it their practice 
all their lives. 

Even these statements do not make emphatic enough the very simple 
nature of men's dress. The inner garment was merely a piece of cloth 
in two oblong parts (sometimes partly sewn together), fastened by pins, 
so as to hold it on. The outer garment was one oblong piece of cloth, 
larger and not fastened at all. 




A Vase Painting, showing the Trojan prince enticing away Helen. The 
painting is of the fifth century, and shows fashions in dress for that time. 

237. Occupations. — Good " society " looked down upon all 
forms of money-making by personal exertion. A physician 
who took pay for his services they despised almost as much 
as they did a carpenter or shoemaker. This attitude is natural 
to a slaveholding society. Careless thinkers sometimes admire 
it. But it contains less promise for mankind than does even 
our modern worship of the dollar, bad as that sometimes is. 
The Greek wanted money enough to supply all the comforts 



240 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 



237 



that he knew about ; but he wanted it to come without his 
earning it. He was very glad to have slaves earn it for him. 

Most of the hand labor was busied in tilling the soil. The 
farmer manured his land skillfully ; but otherwise he made 
no advance over the Egyptian farmer — who had not been com- 
pelled to enrich his land. Some districts, like Corinth and 
Attica, could not furnish food enough for their populations 
from their own soil. Athens imported grain from other parts 




Greek Women, in various activities. — From a vase painting. 



of Hellas and from Thrace and Egypt. This grain was paid 
for, in the long run, by the export of manufactures. In the 
age of Pericles, large factories had appeared. (See Davis' 
Readings, Vol. I, ;N"o. 76, for a list of twenty-five handicrafts 
connected with the beautifying of the Acropolis.) In these 
factories, the place taken now by machinery was taken then, in 
large part, by slaves. The owner of a factory did not com- 
monly own all the slaves employed in it. Any master of a 
slave skilled in that particular trade might " rent " him out to 
the factory by the month or year. 

In Attica, then, the villages outside Athens were mainly 
occupied by farmers and farm laborers. Commerce (as well 
as much manufacturing) was centered in the Piraeus, and was 
managed directly, for the most part, by the non-citizen class. 

In Athens, the poorer classes worked at their trades or in 
their shops from sunrise to sunset — with a holiday about one 



238] 



CLASSES AND INDUSTRIES 



241 



day in three. Their pay was small, because of the competi- 
tion of slave labor; but they needed little pay to give them 
most of the comforts of the rich — except constant leisure. 
And we must understand that the Greek artisan — sometimes 
even the slave — took a noble pride 171 his tvork. The stone 
masons who chiseled out the fluted columns of the Parthenon 
felt themselves fellow workmen with Phidias who carved the 
pediments. In general, the Greek workman seems to have 
worked deliberately and to 
have found a delight in his 
work which was so common 
among the artisans of the Mid- 
dle Ages in Europe, but which 
has been largely driven out 
of modern life by our greater 
subdivision of labor and by 
our greater pressure for haste. 

An Athenian citizen of the 
wealthy class usually owned 
lands outside the city, worked 
by slaves and managed by 
some trusted steward. Prob- 
ably he also had capital in- 
vested in trading vessels, 
though he was not likely to have any part in managing them. 
Some revenue he drew from money at interest with the bankers ; 
and he drew large sums, too, from the " rent " of slaves to the 
factories. 

238. A Day of the Leisure Class. — Like the poorer citizens, 
the rich man rose with the sun. A slave poured water over 
his face and hands, or perhaps over his naked body, from a 
basin. (Poor men like Socrates bathed at the public foun- 
tains.) He then broke his fast on a cup of wine and a dry 
crust of l^read. Afterward, perhaps he rode into the country, 
to visit one of his farms there, or for a day's hunting. 

If, instead, he remained within the city, he left his house 




A Barber in Terra-Cotta. 
From Bliimner. 



242 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 



l§238 



at once, stopping, probably, at a barber's, to have his beard 
and finger nails attended to, as well as to gather the latest 
news from the barber's talk. In any case, the later half of 
the morning, if not the first part, would find him strolling 
through the shaded arcades about the market place, among 
throngs of his fellows, greeting acquaintances and stopping for 
conversation with friends — with whom, sometimes, he sat on 

the benches that 
were interspersed 
among the colon- 
nades. At such 
times, he was al- 
ways followed by 
one or two hand- 
some slave boys, 
to run errands. 
At midday, he re- 
turned home for 
a light lunch. In 
the afternoon, he 
sometimes slept. 
Or, if a student, 
he took to his rolls 
of papyrus. Or, 
if a statesman, 
perhaps he prepared his speech for the next meeting of the 
Assembly. Sometimes, he visited the public gaming houses or 
the clubs. During the afternoon, — usually toward evening, 
— he bathed at a public bathing house, hot, cold, or vapor 
bath, as his taste decided ; and here again he held conversation 
with friends, while resting, or while the slave attendants rubbed 
him with oil and ointment. The bath was usually preceded by 
an hour or more of exercise in a gymnasium. 

Toward sunset, he once more visited his home, unless he was 
to dine out. If the evening meal was to be, for a rare occasion, 
at home and without guests, he ate with his family, — his wife 




Athene. 



§239] A GENTLEMAN'S DAY 243 

sitting at the foot of the couch where he reclined ; and soon 
afterward he went to bed. More commonly, he entertained 
guests — whom he had invited to dinner as he met them at 
the market place in the morning — or he was himself a guest 
elsewhere. 

The evening meal deserves a section to itself (§ 239). First 
let us note that such days as we have just described were not 
allowed to become monotonous at Athens. For several years 
of his life, the citizen was certain to be busied most of the time 
in the service of the state (§ 212). At other times, the meet- 
ings of the Assembly and the religious festivals and the theater 
took at least one day out of every three. 

239. The evening banquet played a large part in Greek life. 
As guests arrived, they took their places in pairs, on couches, 
which were arranged around the room, each man reclining on 
his left arm. Slaves removed the sandals or shoes, wash- 
ing the dust from the feet, and passed bowls of water for 
the hands. They then brought in low three-legged tables, one 
before each couch, on which they afterward placed course after 
course of food. 

The Greeks of this period were not luxurious about eating. 
The meals were rather simple. Food was cut into small 
pieces in the kitchen. No forks or knives were used at 
table. Men ate with a spoon, or, more commonly, with the 
fingers ; and at the close, slaves once more passed bowls for 
washing the hands. When the eating was over, the real busi- 
ness of the evening began — with the wine. This was mixed 
with water; and drunkenness was not common ; but the drinking 
lasted late, with serious or playful talk, and singing and story- 
telling, and with forfeits for those who did not perform well any 
part assigned them by the "master of the feast" (one of their 
number chosen by the others when the wine appeared). Often 
the host had musicians come in, with jugglers and dancing 
girls. Eespectable women never appeared on these occasions. 
Only on marriage festivals, or some special family celebration, 
did the women of a family meet male guests at all. 



244 



THE AGE OF PERICLES 



[§240 



240. Education. — Education at Athens, as in nearly all 
Greece, was in marked contrast with Spartan education (§ 130). 
It aimed to train harmonionsly the intellect, the sense of beauty, 
the moral nature, and the body. At the age of seven the boy 




School, Scenes. — A Bowl, Painting. 
lustruments of instruction, mostly musical, hang on the* walls. In the first 
half, one instructor is correcting the exercise of a boy who stands before 
him. Another is showing how to use the flute. The seated figures, with 
staffs, are "pedagogues." 

entered school, but he was constantly under the eye not only 
of the teacher, but of a trusted servant of his own family, 
called a pedagogue.^ The chief subjects for study were Homer 

1 The word meant " boy-leader." Its use for a " teacher " is later. 



§ 240] EDUCATION 245 

and music. Homer, it has well been said, was to the Greek 
at once Bible, Shakespeare, and Robinson Crusoe. The boy 
learned to write on papyrus with ink. But papyrus was 
costly, and the elementary exercises were carried on with a 
sharp instrument on tablets coated with wax. No great pro- 
ficiency was expected from the average rich youth in writing — 
since he would have slaves do most of it for him in after life. 
The schoolmaster indulged in cruel floggings on slight occasion 
(Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 94). 

When the youth left school, he entered upon a wider train- 
ing, in the political debates of the Assembly, in the lecture halls 
of the Sophists, in the many festivals and religious processions, 
in the plays of the great dramatists at the theaters, and in the 
constant enjoyment of the noblest and purest works of art. 

Physical training began with the child and continued 
through old age. No Greek youth would pass a day without 
devoting some hours to developing his body and to overcoming 
any physical defect or awkwardness that he might have. All 
classes of citizens, except those bound by necessity to the work- 
shop, met for exercise. The result was a perfection of physical 
power and beauty never attained so universally by any other 
people. 

Imaginative Exercises. — This period affords excellent material for 
exercises based upon the training of the historic imagination. Let the 
student absorb all the information he can find upon some historical topic, 
until he is filled with its spirit, and then reproduce it from the inside, with 
the dramatic spirit — as though he lived in that time — not in the descrip- 
tive method of another age. The following topics are suggested (the list 
can be indefinitely extended, and such exercises may be arranged for any 
period) : — 

1. A captive Persian's letter to a friend after Plataea. 

2. A dialogue between Socrates and Xanthippe. 

3. An address by a Messenian to his fellows in their revolt against 
Sparta. 

4. Extracts from a diary of Pericles. 

6. A day at the Olympic games (choose some particular date) . 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR 
(431-404 B.C.) 

241. Causes. — Athens and Sparta were at the opposite poles 
of Greek civilization. Athens stood for progress. Sparta was 
the champion of old ways. A like contrast ran through the 
two leagues of which these cities were the heads. The cities 
of the Athenian empire were Ionian in blood, democratic in 
politics, commercial in interests. Most of the cities of the 
Peloponnesian league were Dorian in blood and aristocratic in 
politics, and their citizens were landowners. This difference 
between the Athenian and Spartan states gave rise to mutual 
distrust. It was easy for any misunderstanding to ripen into 
war. 

Still, if none of the cities of the Peloponnesian league had had 
any interests on the sea, the two powers might each have gone 
its own way without crossing the other's path. But Corinth 
and Megara (members of Sparta's league) were trading cities, 
like Athens ; and, after the growth of the Athenian empire, 
they felt the basis of their prosperity slipping from under 
them. They had lost the trade of the Aegean, and Athens had 
gained it. And now Athens was reaching out also for the 
commerce of the western coasts of Greece. Next to Sparta, 
Corinth was the most powerful city in the Peloponnesian 
league ; and she finally persuaded Sparta to take up arms 
against Athens, before the Thirty Years' Truce (§ 202) had 
run quite half its length. 

242. The immediate occasion for the struggle was found in 
some aid which Athens gave Corey ra against an attack by 
Corinth in 432 b.c. 

246 



§243] RESOURCES AND PLANS 247 

Corcyra was the third naval power in Greece. Corinth was second 
only to Athens. Corinth and Corcyra had come to blows, and Corcyra 
asked to be taken into the Athenian league. Athens finally promised 
defensive aid, and sent ten ships with instructions to take no part in 
offensive operations. A great armament of 150 Corinthian vessels 
appeared off the southern coast of Corcyra. Corcyra could muster 
only 110 ships. In the battle that followed, the Corinthians were at first 
completely victorious. They sank or captured many ships, and seemed 
about to destroy the whole Corcyran fleet. Then the little Athenian 
squadron came to the rescue, and by their superior skill quickly 
restored the fortune of the day. 

But in the negotiations that followed, between Athens and 
the Peloponnesian league, this matter of Corcyra fell out of 
sight, and the quarrel was joined on broader issues.^ Sparta 
finally sent a haughty ultimatum, posing, herself, as the 
champion of a free Hellas against tyrant Athens, which had en- 
slaved the Aegean cities. " Let Athens set those cities free, 
and she might still have peace with Sparta." A timid party, 
of Athenian aristocrats, wished peace even on these terms. 
But the Assembly adopted a dignified resolution moved by 
Pericles : — 

"Let us send the ambassadors away," said he, "with this answer : 
That we will grant independence to the cities ... as soon as the Spartans 
allow their subject states [Messenia and the subject towns of Laconia] to 
be governed as they choose, and not by the will and interest of Sparta. 
Also, that we are wilUng to offer arbitration, according to the treaty [the 
treaty of the Thirty Years' Truce]. And that we do not want to begin 
the war, but shall know how to defend ourselves if we are attacked." 

As Pericles frankly w^arned the Assembly, this reply meant 
conflict. And so in 431 began the "Peloponnesian War." 

243. Resources and Plans. — The Peloponnesian league could 
muster a hundred thousand hoplites, against whom in that 
day no army in the world could stand ; but it could not keep 
many men in the field longer than a few weeks. Sparta could 

1 Special report : the narrative of the deliberations at Sparta regarding war 
or peace (note especially Thucydides' account of the Corinthian speech re- 
garding Sparta and Athens iu Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 77). 



248 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§244 

not capture Athens, therefore, and must depend upon ravaging 
Attic territory and inducing Athenian allies to revolt. 

Athens had only some twenty-six thousand hoplites at her 
command, and half of these were needed for distant garrison 
duty. But she had a navy even more unmatched on the sea than 
the Peloponnesian army was on land. Her walls were impreg- 
nable. The islands of Euboea and Salamis, and the open spaces 
within the Long Walls, she thought, could receive her country 
people with their flocks and herds. Tile corn trade of south 
Russia was securely in her hands. The grain ships could enter 
the Piraeus as usual, however the Spartans might hold the 
open country of Attica. Athens could easily afford to support 
her population for a time from her annual revenues, to say 
nothing of the immense surplus of 6000 talents ($6,000,000) in 
the treasury. 

When war began, the Spartans marched each year into 
Attica with overwhelming force, and remained there for some 
weeks, laying waste the crops, burning the villages, and cut- 
ting down the olive groves, up to the very walls of Athens. 
At lirst, with frenzied rage, the Athenians clamored to march 
out against the invader; but Pericles strained his great au- 
thority to prevent such a disaster, and finally he convinced 
the people that they must bear this insult and injury with 
patience. Meantime, an Athenian fleet was always sent to 
ravage the coasts and harbors of Peloponnesus and to conquer 
various exposed allies of Sparta. Each party could inflict 
considerable damage, hut neither could get at the other to strike a 
vital blow. The war promised to be a matter of endurance. 

Here Athens seemed to have an advantage, since she had the 
stronger motive for holding out. She was fighting to preserve 
her empire, and could not give up without ruin. Sparta could 
cease fighting without loss to herself ; and Pericles hoped to 
tire her out. 

244. The Plague in Athens. — The plan of Pericles might 
have been successful, had the Spartans not been encouraged 
by a tragic disaster which fell upon Athens and which no one 



§244] THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS 249 

in that day could have foreseen. A terrible plague had been 
ravaging western Asia, and in the second year of the war it 
reached the Aegean. In most parts of Hellas it did no great 
harm ; but in Athens it was peculiarly deadly. The people of 
all Attica, crowded into the one city, were living under unusual 
and unwholesome conditions ; and the pestilence returned each 
summer for several years. It slew more than a fourth of the 
population, and paralyzed industry and all ordinary activ- 
ities. Worse still, it shattered, for years, the proud and joy- 
ous self-trust which had come to the Athenian people after 
Marathon. 

Thucydides, an eye witness, has described the ravages of the 
plague and explained their cause. " When the country people 
of Attica arrived in Athens," he says, " a few had homes of their 
own, or found friends to take them in. But far the greater 
number had to find a place to live on some vacant spot or in 
the temples of the gods and chapels of the heroes. . . . Many 
also camped down in the towers of the walls or wherever else 
they could ; for the city proved too small to hold them." 
Thucydides could see the unhappy results of these conditions, 
after the plague had fallen on the city ; and he adds, with 
grim irony, that " while these country folk were dividing the 
spaces between the Long Walls and settling there," the govern- 
ment (Generals and Council) were " paying great attention to 
mustering a fleet for ravaging the Peloponnesian coasts." 

Then, in dealing with the horrible story of the plague, 
Thucydides shows how these conditions prepared for it. " The 
new arrivals from the country were the greatest sufferers, — 
lodged during this hot season in stifling huts, where death 
raged without check. The bodies of dying men lay one upon 
another, and half-dead creatures reeled about the streets, poi- 
soning all the fountains and wells with their bodies, in their 
longing for water. The sacred places in which they had 
camped were full of corpses [a terrible sacrilege, to Greeks] ; 
for men, not knoiving ivhat was to become of them, became 
wholly cai^eless of everything." 



250 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§245 

245. Twenty-seven Years of War. — Still, the Athenians did 
recover their buoyant hope ; and the war dragged along with 
varying success for twenty-seven years, with one short and 
ill-kept truce, — a whole generation growing up from the 
cradle to manhood in incessant war. A story of the long strug- 
gle in detail would take a volume. Tlie contest tvas not of such 
lasting importance as the preceding struggle between the Greek and 
Persian civilizations ; and only a few incidents require mention. 

246. Athenian Naval Supremacy. — On the sea the superiority 
of Athens consisted not merely in the size of her navy, hut even 
more in its skill. The other Greeks still fought, as at the time 
of Sal amis, by dashing their ships against each other, beak 
against beak, and then, if neither was sunk, by grappling the 
vessels together, and fighting as if on land. The Athenians, 
however, had now learned to maneuver their ships, rowing 
swiftly about the enemy with many feints, and seizing the 
opportunity to sink a ship by a sudden blow at an exposed 
point. Their improved tactics revolutionized naval warfare ; 
and for years small fleets of Athenian ships proved equal to 
three times their number of the enemy.^ Gradually, however, 
the Peloponnesians learned something of the Athenian tactics, 
and this difference became less marked. 

247. New Leaders. — The deadliest blow of the plague was 
the striking down of Pericles, who died of the disease, in 
the third year of the war. Never had the Athenians so 
needed his controlling will and calm judgment. He was fol- 
lowed by a new class of leaders, — men of the people, like 
Cleon the tanner, and Hyperholus the lampmaker, — men of 
strong will and much force, but rude, untrained, unscrupulous, 
and ready to surrender their own convictions, if necessary, to 
win the favor of the crowd. Such men were to lead Athens 
into many blunders and crimes. Over against them stood 
only a group of incapable aristocrats, led by Nicias, a good but 
stupid man, and Alcibiades, a brilliant, unprincipled adventurer. 

1 Special report to illustrate these points : the story of Phormio's victories 
in the Corinthian Gulf in 431, 



§249] ATHENIAN DISASTER 251 

Athens was peculiarly unfortunate in her statesmen at 
this period. She produced no Themistocles, or Aristides, or 
Cimon, or Pericles; and Phormio and Demosthenes, her great 
admirals, were usually absent from the city. Sparta, on the 
other hand, produced two greater generals than ever before in 
her history: Brasidas, whose brilliant campaigns overthrew 
Athenian supremacy on the coast of Thrace ; and Lysander, 
who was finally to bring the war to a close. 

248. Athenian Disaster in Sicily. — The turning-point in the 
war was an unwise and misconducted Athenian expedition 
against Syracuse.^ Two hundred perfectly equipped ships and 
over forty thousand men — among them eleven thousand of 
the flower of the Athenian hoplites — were pitifully sacrificed 
by the superstition and miserable generalship of their leader, 
Nicias (413 b.c). 

Even after this crushing disaster Athens refused peace that 
should take away her empire. Every nerve was strained^ and 
the last resources and reserve funds exhausted, to build and 
man new fleets. The war lasted nine years more, and part of 
the time Athens seemed as supreme in the Aegean as ever. 
Two things are notable in the closing chapters of the struggle, 
— the attempt to overthrow democracy in Athens, and Sj)arta's 
betrayal of the Asiatic Greeks to Persia (§§ 249, 250). 

249. The Rule of the Four Hundred. —For a century, the oli- 
garchic party had hardly raised its head in Athens ; but in 411, 
it attempted once more to seize the government. Wealthy men 
of moderate opinions were wearied by the heavy taxation of the 
war. The democracy had blundered sadly and had shown itself 
unfit to deal with foreign relations, where secrecy and dispatch 
were essential ; and its new leaders were particularly offensive 
to the old Athenian families. 

Under these conditions, the officers of the fleet conspired 
with secret oligarchic societies at home. Leading democrats 
were assassinated ; and the Assembly was terrorized into sur- 

1 Syracuse, a Dorian city and a warm friend to Sparta, had been encroach- 
iug upon Ionian allies of Athens in Sicily. 



252 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR [§250 

rendering its powers to a council of Four Hundred of the oli- 
garchs. But this body proved generally incompetent, except 
in murder and plunder, and it permitted needless disasters in 
the war. After a few months, the Athenian fleet at Samos de- 
posed its oligarchic officers ; and the democracy at home expelled 
the Four Hundred and restored the old government. 




Route of the Long Walls, looking southwest to the harhoi*, some three 
and one half miles distant. From a recent photograph. 

250. Sparta betrays the Asiatic Greeks. — In 412, immediately 
after the destruction of the Athenian army and fleet in Sicily, 
Persian satraps appeared again upon the Aegean coast. S^^arta 
at once bought the aid of their gold by }yromising to betray the 
freedom of the Asiatic Greeks, — to whom the Athenian name 
had been a shield for seventy years. Persian funds now built 
fleet after fleet for Sparta, and slowly Athens was exhausted, 
despite some brilliant victories. 

251. Fall of Athens. — In 405, the last Athenian fleet was 
surprised and captured at Aegospotami (Goat Eivers). Appar- 
ently the officers had been plotting again for an oligarchic revolu- 
tion; and the sailors had been discouraged and demoralized, 
even if they were not actually betrayed by their commanders. 



§ 251] FALL OF ATHENS 253 

Lysander, the Spartan commander, in cold blood put to death 
the four thousand Athenian citizens among the captives.^ 

This slaughter marks the end. Athens still held out despair- 
ing but stubborn, until starved into sulomission by a terrible 
siege. In 404, the proud city surrendered to the mercy of its 
foes. Corinth and Thebes wished to raze it from the earth ; 
but Sparta had no mind to do away with so useful a check upon 
those cities. She compelled Athens to renounce all claims to 
empire, to give up all alliances, to surrender all her ships but 
twelve, and to promise to ''follow Sparta" in peace and war. 
The Long Walls and the defenses of the Piraeus were demol- 
ished, to the music of Peloponnesian flutes; and Hellas w^as 
declared free ! 

Events ^vere at once to show this promise a cruel mockery. 
The one power that could have groiim into a free and uriited 
Greece had been rumed, and it remained to see to what foreign 
master Greece should fall. 



For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Eeadings, 
Vol. I, Nos. 81-86 (16 pages), gives tlie most strilcing episodes of the war, 
as they were told by the Athenian historians of the day, Thucydides 
and Xenophon. Plutarch's Lives (" Alcibiades," "Nicias,'' and "Ly- 
sander") is the next most valuable authority. 

The following modern authorities continue to be useful (and may be 
consulted for special reports upon the period, if any are assigned) : Bury, 
chs. X, xi ; the closing parts of Grant's Age of Pericles and of Abbott's 
Pericles; and Cox's Athenian Empire. Bury gives 120 pages to the 
struggle, — too long an account for reading, but useful for special topics. 

1 Special reports: (1) Cleon's leadership. (2) The trial of the Athenian 
generals after the victory of Arginusae. (3) The massacre of the Mytilenean 
oligarchs (story of the decree and the reprieve). (4) Massacre of the Melians 
by Athens, 415 B.C. (5) Note the merciless nature of the struggle, as shown 
by other massacres of prisoners: i.e., Thebans by Plataeans, 431 b.c. ; Pla- 
taeans by Thebans, 427 b.c. ; thousands of Athenians in the mines of Syracuse ; 
the four thousand Athenians after Aegospotami. (6) The career of Alcibi- 
ades. (7) The Thracian campaigns. (8) The Sicilian expedition. (9) The 
Siege of Plataea. 

Material for such reports will be easily found in the books named at the 
end of this chapter. 



CHAPTER XVI 

FROM THE FALL OF ATHENS TO THE FALL OF HELLAS 
(404-338 B.C.) 

252. Decline of Hellas. — The Athenian empire had lasted seventy 
glorious years. Nearly an equal time was yet to elapse before Hellas 
fell under Macedonian sway; but it need not detain us long. Persia 
had already begun again to enslave the Greeks of Asia ; Carthage again 
did the like in Sicily ; and in the European peninsula the period was one 
of shame or of profitless wars. It falls into three parts : thirty-three 
years of Spartan supremacy; nine years of Theban supremacy; and 
some twenty years of anarchy. 

SPARTAN SUPREMACY, 404-371 p..c. 

253. " Decarchies." — After Aegospotami, Sparta was mis- 
tress of Greece more completely than Athens had ever been, 
but for only half as long ; and most of that time was given to 
wars to maintain her authority. She had promised to set 
Hellas free ; but the cities of the old Athenian empire found 
that they had exchanged a mild, wise rule for a coarse and 
stupid despotism.^ Their old tribute teas doubled; their self-gov- 
ernment was taken away ; bloodshed and co7ifusion ran riot in 
their streets. 

Everywhere Sparta overthrew the old democracies, and set 
up oligarchic governments. Usually the management of a 
city was given to a board of ten men, called a decarchy ("rule 
of ten "). These oligarchies, of course, were dependent upon 
Sparta. 2 To defend them against any democratic rising, there 

1 Cox, Athenian Empire, 229-231, gives an admirable contrast between the 
Athenian and the Spartan systems. 

2 Note the likeness between this Spartan method and the Persian practice 
of setting up tyrannies, dependent upon Persia, in the Ionian cities (§ 164). 

254 



§255] SPARTAN TYRANNY OVER GREECE 255 

was placed in many cities a Spartan garrison, with a Spartan 
military governor called a harmost. The garrisons plundered at 
will ; the harmosts grew rich from extortion and bribes ; the 
decarchies were slavishly subservient to their masters, while 
they wreaked upon their fellow-citizens a long pent-up aristo- 
cratic vengeance, in confiscation, outrage, expulsion, assassina- 
tion, and massacre. 

254. Spartan Decay. — In Sparta itself luxury and corruption 
replaced the old simplicity. As a result, the number of citi- 
zens was rapidly growing smaller. Property was gathered 
into the hands of a few, while many Spartans grew too poor to 
support themselves at the public mess (§ 130). These poorer 
men ceased to be looked upon as citizens. They were not per- 
mitted to vote in the Assembly, and were known as " In- 
feriors." The 10,000 citizens, of the Persian War period, 
shrank to 2000. 

The discontent of the "Inferiors" added to the standing 
danger from the Helots. A plot was formed between these 
classes to change the government ; and only an accident pre- 
vented an armed revolution.^ Thus, even at home, the Spartan 
rule during this period rested on a volcano. 

255. The "Thirty Tyrants" at Athens. — For a time even 
Athens remained a victim to Spartan tyranny, like any petty 
Ionian city. After the surrender, in 404, Lysander appointed 
a committee of thirty from the oligarchic clubs of Athens " to 
reestablish the constitution of the fathers." Meantime, they 
were to hold absolute power. This committee was expected to 
undo the reforms of Pericles and Clisthenes and even of 
Solon, and to restore the ancient oligarchy. As a matter of 
fact they did worse than that : they published no constitution 
at all, but instead they filled all ofiices with their own followers 
and plotted to make their rule permanent. 

These men were known as " the Thirty Tyrants." They 
called in a Spartan harmost and garrison, to whom they gave 
the fortress of the Acropolis. They disarmed the citizens, ex- 

1 Special report : the conspiracy of Cinadon at Sparta. 



256 SPARTAN SUPREMACY [§256 

cept some three thousand of their own adherents: Then they 
began a bloody and greedy rule. Rich democrats and alien 
merchants were put to death or driven into exile, in order that 
their property might be confiscated.^ The victims of this pro- 
scription were counted by hundreds, perhaps by thousands. 
Larger numbers fled, and, despite the orders of Sparta, they 
were sheltered by Thebes. That city had felt aggrieved that 
her services in the Peloponnesian War received no reward 
from Sparta, and now she would have been glad to see Athens 
more powerful again. 

256. Athens again Free. — This reign of terror at Athens 
lasted over a year. Then, in 403, one of the democratic exiles, 
Thrasybidus, with a band of companions from Thebes, seized the 
Piraeus. The aliens of the harbor rose to his supi)ort. The 
Spartan garrison and the forces of the Thirty were defeated. 
A quarrel between Lysander and the Spartan king prevented 
serious Spartan interference, and the old Athenian democracy 
recovered the government. 

The aliens and sailors of the Piraeus had fought valiantly 
with the democrats against the Thirty. Thrasybulus now 
urged that they be made full citizens. That just measure would 
have made up partly for Athens' terrible losses in thePelopon- 
nesian War. Unfortunately, it was not adopted ; but in other 
respects, the restored democracy showed itself generous as well 
as moderate. A few of the most guilty of the Thirty were 
punished, but for all others a general amnesty was declared. 

The good faith and moderation of the democracy contrasted 
so favorably with the cut-throat rule of the two recent experi- 
ments at oligarchy, that Athens was undisturbed in future by 
revolution. Other parts of Greece, however, were less fortu- 
nate, and democracy never again became so generally established 
in Hellenic cities as it had been in the age of Pericles. 

257. " March of the Ten Thousand." — Meantime, important 
events were taking place in the East. In 401, the weakness of 

'' Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 100, gives a famous instance. 



§259] LEAGUE AGAINST SPARTA 257 

the Persian empire was strikingly shown. Cyrus the Younger, 
brother of the king Artaxerxes, endeavored to seize the Persian 
throne. While a satrap:) in Asia Minor, Cyrus had furnished 
Sparta the money to keep her fleet together before the battle 
of Goat Rivers ; and now, through Sparta's favor, he was able 
to enlist ten thousand Greeks in his army. 

Cyrus penetrated to the heart of the Persian empire : but in 
the battle of Cunaxa, near Babylon, he was killed, and his 
Asiatic troops routed. The Ten Thousand Greeks, however, 
proved unconquerable by the Persian host of half a million. 
By treachery the leaders were entrapped and murdered ; but 
under the inspiration of Xenophon ^ the Athenian, the Ten 
Thousand chose new generals and made a remarkable retreat 
to the Greek districts on the Black Sea. 

258. Renewal of the Persian Wars. — Until this time the 
Greeks had waged their contests with Persia only along the 
coasts of Asia. After the Ten Thousand had marched, almost 
at will, through so many hostile nations, the Greeks began to 
dream of conquering the Asiatic continent. Seventy years later, 
Alexander the Great was to make this dream a fact. First, 
however, the attempt was made by Agesilaus, king of Sparta. 

Sparta had brought down upon herself the wrath of Persia, 
anyway, by favoring Cyrus ; and Agesilaus burned with a noble 
ambition to free the Asiatic Greeks, who, a little before (§ 250), 
had been abandoned to Persia by his country. Thus war began 
between Sparta and Persia. In 396, Agesilaus invaded Asia 
Minor with a large army, but was checked, in full career of 
conquest, by events at home (§ 259). 

259. A Greek League against Sparta, 395 B.C. — No sooner was 
Sparta engaged with Persia than enemies rose up in Greece it- 
self. Thebes, Corinth, Athens, and Argos formed an alliance 
against her, and the empire she had gained at Goat Rivers 
was shattered by Conon. Conon was the ablest of the Athenian 
generals in the latter period of the Peloponnesian War. At 

iCf. § 224 and § 41. Xenophon's Anabasis is our authority for these 
events. 



258 



SPARTAN SUPREMACY 



260 



Goat Rivers lie was the only one who had kept his squadron in 
order ; and after all was lost, he had escaped to Rhodes and 
entered Persian service. l^ow, in 394, in command of a 

Persian fleet (mainly 
made up of Phoeni- 
cian ships) he com- 
pletely destroyed the 
Spartan naval power 
at the battle of Cni- 
dus. 

Spartan authority 
in the Aegean van- 
ished. Conon sailed 
from island to island, 
expelling the Spartan 
garrisons, and restor- 
ing democracies ; and 
in the next year he 
anchored in the Pi- 
raeus and rebuilt the 
Long Walls. Athens 
again became one of 
the great powers ; and 
Sparta fell back into 
her old position as 
mere head of the in- 
land Peloponnesian 
league. 

260. Peace of Antalcidas, 387 B.C. — After a few more years 
of indecisive war, Sparta sought peace with Persia. In 387, 
the two powers invited all the Greek states to send deputies to 
Sardis, where the Persian king dictated the terms. The document 
read : — 

" King Artaxerxes deems it just that the cities in Asia, loith the islands 
of Clazomenae and Cyprus, should belong to himself. The rest of the Hel- 
lenic cities, both great and small, he will leave independent, save Lemnos, 




The Hermes of Praxiteles. 

The arms and legs of the statue are sadly muti- 
lated, but the head is one of the most famous 
remains of Greek art. Cf . § 220, note. 



§ 262] THEBES — LEUCTRA 259 

Imbros, and Scyros, which three are to belong to Athens as of yore. 
Should any of the parties not accept this peace, I, Artaxerxes, together 
with those who share my views [the Spartans], will war against the 
offenders by land and sea," — Xenephon, Hcllenica, v, 1. 

Sparta held that these terms dissolved all the other leagues 
(like the Boeotian, of which Thebes was the head), but that 
they did not aifect her own control over her subject towns in 
Laconia, nor weaken the Peloponnesian confederacy. 

Thus Persia and Sjxirta again conspired to betray Hellas. 
Persia helped Sparta to keep the European Greek states divided 
and weak, as they were before the Persian War ; and Sparta 
helped Persia to recover her old authority over the Asiatic 
Greeks. By this iniquity the tottering Spartan supremacy was 
bolstered up a few years longer. 

Of course the shame of betraying the Asiatic Greeks must be shared 
by the enemies of Sparta, who had used Persian aid against her ; hut the 
policy had been first introduced by Sparta in seeking Persian assistance in 
412 against Athens (§ 250) ; and so far no other Greek state had offered 
to surrender Hellenic cities to barbarians as the price of such aid. 

261. Spartan Aggressions. — Sparta had saved her power by 
infamy. She used it, with the same brutal cunning as in the 
past, to keep down the beginnings of greatness elsewhere in 
Greece. 

Thus, Arcadia had shown signs of growing strength ; but 
Sparta now broke up the leading city, Mantinea, and dispersed 
the inhabitants in villages. In Chalcidice, the city of Olynthus 
had organized its neighbors into a promising league. A Spartan 
army compelled this league to break up. While on the way to 
Chalcidice, part of this army, by treachery, in time of peace, 
seized the citadel of Thebes. And, when the Athenian naval 
power began to revive, a like treacherous, though unsuccessful, 
attempt was made upon the Piraeus. 

262. Thebes a Democracy. — These high-handed outrages 
were to react upon the offender. First there came a revolution 
at Thebes. The Spartan garrison there had set up an oligarchic 
Theban government which had driven crowds of citizens into 



260 



SPARTAN SUPREMACY 



[§263 



PLAN OF THE 

BATTLE OF LEl/TRA 

371 B.C. 



exile. Athens received them, just as Thebes had sheltered 
Athenian fugitives in the time of the Thirty Tyrants ; and 
from Athens Pelojndas, a leader of the exiles, struck the return 
blow.^ In 379, Thebes was surprised and seized by the exiles, 
and the government passed into the hands of the democrats. 
Then Thebes and Athens joined in a new war upon Sparta. 

263. Leuctra ; the Overthrow of Sparta. — The war dragged 
along for some years ; and in 371 e.g., the contending parties, 

wearied with fruitless 
strife, concluded peace. 
But when the treaty was 
being signed, Epaminon- 
das, the Theban repre- 
sentative, demanded the 
right to sign for all Boeo- 
tia, as Sparta had signed 
for all Laconia. Athens 
would not support Thebes 
in this position. So 
Thebes was excluded 
from the peace; and 
Sparta turned to crush her. A powerful army at once invaded 
Boeotia, — and met with an overwhelming defeat by a smaller 
Tlieban force at Leuctra. 

This amazing result was due to the military genius of Epam- 
inondas. Hitherto the Greeks had fought in long lines, from 
eight to twelve men deep. Epaminondas adopted a new 
arrangement that marks a step in warfare. He massed his 
best troops in a solid column, fifty men deep, on the left, oppo- 
site the Spartan wing in the Peloponnesian army. His other 
troops were spread out as thin as possible. The solid phalanx 

1 The story is full of adventure. Pelopidas and a number of other daria^ 
young men among the exiles returned secretly to Thebes, and, through the aid 
of friends there, were admitted (disguised as dancing girls) to a banquet 
where the Theban oligarchs were already deep in wine. They killed the 
drunken traitors with their daggers. Then, running through the streets, they 
called the people to expel the Spartans from the citadel. 








§ 265] EPAMINONDAS 261 

was set in motion first ; then the thinner center and right wing 
advanced more slowly, so as to engage the attention of the 
enemy opposite, but not to come into action until the battle 
should have been won by the massed column. 

In short, Epaminondas massed his force against one part of 
the enemy. The weight of the Tlieban charge crushed through 
the Spartan line, and trampled it under. Four hundred of the 
seven hundred Spartans, with their king and with a thousand 
other Peloponnesian hoplites, went down in ten minutes. 

The mere loss of men was fatal enough, now that Spartan 
citizenship was so reduced (the number of full citizens after 
this battle did not exceed fifteen hundred) ; but the effect upon 
the military prestige of Sparta was even more deadly. At one 
stroke Sparta sank into a second-rate power. None the less, 
Spartan character never showed to better advantage. Sparta 
was always greater in defeat than in victory, and she met her 
fate with heroic composure. The news of the overthrow did 
not interfere with a festival that was going on, and only the 
relatives of the survivors of the battle appeared in mourning. 

THEBAN SUPREMACY 

264. Epaminondas. — For nine years after Leuctra, Thebes 
was the head of Greece. This position she owed to her great 
leader, Epaminondas, whose life marks one of the fair heights 
to which human nature can ascend. Epaminondas was great 
as general, statesman, and philosopher; but he was greatest as 
a man, lofty and lovable in nature. In his earlier days he had 
been looked upon as a dreamer; and when the oligarchs of 
Thebes drove out Pelopidas and other active patriots (§ 262), 
they only sneered while Epaminondas continued calmly to talk 
of liberty to the young. Later, it was recognized that, more 
than any other man, he had prepared the way for the over- 
throw of tyranny ; and after the expulsion of the oligarchs he 
became the organizer of the democracy. 

265. Sparta surrounded by Hostile Cities. — Epaminondas 
sought to do for Thebes what Pericles had done for Athens. 



262 THEBAN SUPREMACY [§266 

While he lived, success seemed possible. Unhappily, the few- 
years remaining of his life he was compelled to give mainly to 
war. Laconia was repeatedly invaded. During these cam- 
paigns E})aminondas freed Messenia,^ on one side of Sparta, 
and organized Arcadia, on the other side, into a federal union, 
— so as to "surround Sparta with a perpetual blockade." 
The great Theban aided the Messenians to found a new cap- 
ital, Messene ; and in Arcadia he restored Mantinea, which 
Sparta had destroyed (§ U61). In this district he also founded 
Megalopolis, or " the Great City," by combining forty scattered 
villages. 

266. Athens (jealous of Thebes) saved Sparta from complete 
destruction, but drew Theban vengeance u]K)n herself. Epam- 
inondas built fleets, swept the Athenian navy from the seas, and 
made Euboea a Theban possession. Thessaly and Macedonia, 
too, were brought under Theban influence; and the young Philip, 
prince of Macedon, spent some years in Thebes as a hostage. 

267. Mantinea. — The leadership of Thebes, however, rested 
solely on the supreme genius of her one great statesman, and 
it vanished at his death. In 362, for the fourth time, Epami- 
nondas marched against Sparta, and at Mantinea won another 
great victory. The Spartans had been unable to learn ; and 
went down again before the same tactics that had crushed them 
nine years earlier at Leuctra. Mantinea was the greatest land 
battle ever fought between Hellenes, and nearly all the states 
of Greece took part on one side or the other. But the victory 
bore no fruit ; for Epaminondas himself fell on the field, and 
his city sank at once to a slow and narrow policy. 

No state was left in Greece to assume leadership. A turbu- 
lent anarchy, in place of the stern Spartan rule, seemed the 
only fruit of the brief glory of the great Theban. 

268. Failure of the City-state. — The failure of the Greek cities to 
unite in larger states made it certain that sooner or later they must fall 

1 Messenia had beeu a mere district of Laconia for nearly two centuries 
and a lialf. Its loss took from Sparta more than a third of her whole territory. 



§270] MACEDON AND PHILIP II 263 

to some outside power. Sparta and Thebes (with Persian aid) had 
been able to prevent Athenian leadership; Thebes and Athens had 
overthrown Sparta ; Sparta and Athens had been able to check Thebes. 
Twenty years of anarchy followed ; and then Greece fell to a foreign 
master. On the north there had been growing up a nation-state; and 
the city-state could not stand before that stronger organization. 

For Further Reading. — Specially suggested : Davis' Headings, 
Vol. I, Nos. 100 ("Thirty Tyrants"), 101 (Epaminondas), and 102 
(Leuctra). Plutarch's Lives (" Agesilaus " and " Pelopidas "). 

Additional : Bury, 514-628. 

THE MACEDONIAN CONQUEST 

269. Macedon. — The Macedonians were part of the " outer 
rim of the Greek race." They were still barbaric, and 
perhaps were mixed somewhat with non-Hellenic elements. 
Shortly before this time, they were only a loose union of 
tribes; but Philip II (§ 270) had now consolidated them into 
a real nation. The change was so recent that Alexander the 
Great, a little later, could say to his army : — 

" My father, Philip, found you a roving, destitute people, without fixed 
homes and without resources, most of you clad in the skins of animals, 
pasturing a few sheep among the mountains, and, to defend these, waging 
a luckless warfare with the Illyrians, the Triballans, and the Thracians 
on your borders. He gave you the soldier's cloak to replace the skins, 
and led you down from the mountains into the plain, making you a 
worthy match in war against the barbarians on your frontier, so that you 
no longer trusted to your strongholds, so much as to your own valor, 
for safety. He made you to dwell in cities and provided you with 
wholesome laws and institutions. Over those same barbarians, who 
before had plundered you and carried off as booty both yourselves and 
your substance, he made you masters and lords." ^ 

270. Philip II of Macedon is one of most remarkable men in 
history. 2 He was ambitious, crafty, sagacious, persistent, un- 
scrupulous, an unfailing judge of character, and a marvelous 
organizer. He set himself to make his people true Greeks by 

1 See the rest of this passage in Davis' Readings, Vol. I, No. 107. 

2 Wheeler's characterization, Alexander the Great, 5-7, is admirable. 



264 



MACEDONIAN CONQUEST 



271 



making them the leaders of Greece. He was determined to 
secure that headship) for which Athens, Sparta, and Thebes had 
striven in vain. 

271. Philip's Methods. — At Philip's accession Macedon was 
still a poor country without a good harbor. The first need 

was an outlet on the sea. 
Philip found one by con- 
quering the Chalcidic pen- 
insula. Then his energy 
developed the gold mines 
of the district until they 
furnished him a yearly 
revenue of a thousand tal- 
ents — as large as that of 
Athens at her greatest 
power. 

Next Philip turned to 
Greece itself. Here he 
used an adroit mingling of 
cunning, bribery, and force. 
In all Greek states, among 
the pretended patriot statesmen, there were secret servants in 
his pay. He set city against city ; and the constant tendency 
to quarrels among the Greeks played into his hands. 

272. Demosthenes. — The only man who saw clearly the 
designs of Philip, and constantly opposed them, was Demos- 
thenes the Athenian. Demosthenes was the greatest orator 
of Greece. To check Macedonia became the one aim of his 
life ; and the last glow of Greek independence flames up in 
his passionate a])peals to Athens that • she defend Hellas 
against Macedon as she had once done against Persia. 

" Suppose that you have one of the gods as surety that Philip will 
leave you untouched, in tlie name of all the gods, it is a shame for you 
in ignorant stupidity to sacrifice the rest of Hellas ! " 

The noble orations (the Philippics) by which Demosthenes 
sought to move the Athenian assembly to action against Philip 




Philip II. 
From a gold medalhon by Alexander. 



§273] 



THE MACEDONIAN ARMY 



265 



are still unrivaled in literature/ but they had no permanent 
practical effect. 

273. The Macedonian Army. — The most important work of 
Philip was his army. This was as superior to the four-months 




SCALE OF MILES 



iKv^-; M Macedonia at the he^inning ^ 

h^^'^TCJ of Philip's Reign. 

V///////A Tenitorj added bj Philip 

Y////////A ^ before Chaeronea. 



ES ENG.CO., N.Y. 



citizen armies of Hellas as Philip's steady and secret diplomacy 
was superior to the changing councils of a popular assembly. 
The king's wealth enabled him to keep a disciplined force 
ready for action. He had become familiar with the Theban 
phalanx during his stay at Thebes as a boy (§ 266). Now he 



1 Cf. § 223, Special report : Demosthenes. 



266 MACEDONIAN CONQUEST [§274 

enlarged and improved it, so that the ranks presented five 
rows of bristling spears projecting beyond the front soldier. 
The flanks were protected by light-armed troops, and the 
Macedonian nobles furnished the finest of cavalry. 

At the same time a field " artillery '' first appears, made up 
of curious engines able to throw darts and great stones three 
hundred yards. Such a mixture of troops, and on a permanent 
footing, was altogether novel. Philip created the instrument 
with which his son was to conquer the world. 

274. Chaeronea and the Congress of Corinth. — In 338 b.c. 
Philip threw off the mask and invaded Greece. Athens and 
Thebes combined against him, — to be hopelessly crushed at 
the battle of Chaeronea. Then a congress of Greek states at 
Corinth recognized Macedonia as the head of Greece. It was 
agreed that the separate states should keep their local self- 
government, but that foreign matters, including war and peace, 
should be committed to Philip. Philip was also declared gen- 
eral ill chief of the armies of Greece for a war against Persia. 

275. The History of Hellas Ended. — Thus Philip posed, 
wisely, not as the conqueror, but as the champion of Greece 
against the foe of all Hellenes, He showed a patient mag- 
nanimity, too, toward fickle Greek states, and in particular he 
strove to reconcile Athens. He was wise enough to see that 
he needed, not reluctant subjects, but willing followers. 

Greek independence was at an end. Greece thereafter, 
until a hundred years ago, was only a province of this or 
that foreign power. The history of Hellenic culture, however, 
was not closed. The Macedonian conquest was to spread that 
civilization over the vast East. The history of Hellas merges 
in the history of a ivider HeUenistic world. 



For Further Keading. — Specially suggested : Davis' Headings, 
Vol, I, Nos. 103-107. Bury, ch. xvi ; or (better if accessible) Wheeler's 
Alexander the Great, 14-18 and 64-80. 

Exercise. — Review the period from Aegospotami to Chaeronea by 
"catch-words" (see Exercise on page 190). 



PART III 

THE GKAEOO-OKIENTAL WORLD 

With Alexander the stage of Greek influence spreads across the world, 
and Greece becomes only a small item in the heritage of the Greeks. 

— Mahaffy. 

Tlie seed-ground of European civilization is neither Greece nor the 
Orient, but a world joined of the two. — Benjamin Ide Wheeler. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE MINGLING OF EAST AND WEST 

276. Alexander the Great. — Philip of Maceclon was assassi- 
nated in 336, two years aMr Chaeronea. He was just ready 
to begin the invasion of Asia ; and his work was taken np by 
his son Alexander. 

Father and son were both among the greatest men in his- 
tory, but they were very unlike. In many ways Alexander 
resembled his mother, Olympias, a semi-barbaric princess from 
Epirus, — a woman of intense passions and generous enthusi- 
asms. Says Benjamin Ide Wheeler : — 

" While it was from his father that Alexander inherited his sagacious 
insight into men and things, and his brilliant capacity for timely and 
determined action, it was to his mother that he undoubtedly owed that 
passionate warmth of nature which betrayed itself not only in the furious 
outbursts of temper occasionally characteristic of him, but quite as much 
in a romantic fervor of attachment and love for friends, a delicate tender- 
ness of sympathy for the weak, and a princely largeness and generosity 
of soul toward all, that made him so deeply beloved of men and so 
enthusiastically followed." — Alexander the Great, 5. 

267 



268 



GREEK CONQUESTS IN THE ORIENT 



277 



As a boy, Alexander had been fearless, self-willed, and rest- 
less, with fervent affections.^ These traits marked his whole 
career. He was devoted to Homer, and he knew the Iliad by 
heart. Homer's Achilles he claimed for an ancestor and took for 
his ideal. His later education was directed by Aristotle (§ 315), 
and from this great teacher he learned to admire Greek art and 
science and to come closely into sympathy with the best 
Greek culture. 

277. Restoration of Order. — At his father's death Alexander 
was a strii)ling of twenty years. He was to prove a rare mili- 



?!'%; 







Alexander, Alexander in a Lion-hunt. 

Two sides of a gold medallion of Tarsus. 

tary genius. He never lost a battle and never refused an 
engagement ; and, on occasion, he could be shrewd and adroit in 
diplomacy ; but at this time he was known only as a rash boy. 
No one thought that he could hold together the empire that 
had been built up by the force and cunning of the great Philip. 
Revolt broke out everywhere ; but the young king showed 
himself at once both statesman and general. With marvelous 
rapidity he struck crushing blows on this side and on that. A 
hurried expedition restored order in Greece ; the savage tribes 
of the north were quieted by a rapid march beyond the Danube; 

1 Special report : anecdotes from Plutarch regarding Alexander's boyhood. 



§278] 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 



269 



then, turning on rebellious Illyria, Alexander forced the 
mountain passes and overran the country. 

Meanwhile it was reported in the south that Alexander was 
killed or defeated among the barbarians. Insurrection again 
blazed forth ; but with forced marches he suddenly appeared a 
second time in Greece, falling with swift and terrible vengeance 
upon Thebes, the center of 
the revolt. The city was 
taken by storm and leveled 
to the ground, except the 
house of Pindar (§ 155), 
while the thirty thousand 
survivors of the popula- 
tion were sold as slaves. 
The other states were ter- 
rified into abject submis- 
sion, and were treated 
generously. Then, with 
his authority firmly re- 
established, Alexander 
turned, as the champion of 
Hellas, to 'attack Persia. 

278. The Persian Cam- 
paigns. — In the spring 
of 334 B.C. Alexander 
crossed the Hellespont 
with thirty -five thousand 

disciplined troops. The army was quite enough to scatter any 
Oriental force, and as large as any general could then handle 
in long and rapid marches in a hostile country ; but its size 
contrasts strangely with that of the huge horde Xerxes had 
led against Greece a century and a half before. 

The route of march and the immense distances traversed can 
be best traced by the map. The conquest of the main empire 
occupied five years, and the story falls into three distinct 
chapters, each marked by a world-famous battle. 




The 



Alexander. 
Copenhagen " head. Prohahly by a 
pupil of the sculptor Skopas. 



270 GREEK CONQUESTS IN THE ORIENT [§ 278 

a. Asia Minor: Battle of the Granicus. — The Persian 
satraps of Asia Minor met the invaders at the GranicQS, a 
small stream in ancient Troyland. With the personal rash- 
ness that was the one blot upon his military skill, Alexander 
himself led the Macedonian charge through the river and up 
the steep bank into the midst of the Persian cavalry, where 
he barely escaped death. The Persian nobles fought, as 
always, with gallant self-devotion, but in the end they were 
utterly routed. Then a body of Greek mercenaries in Persian 
pay was surrounded and cut down to a man. No quarter was 
to be given Hellenes fighting as traitors to the cause of Hellas. 

The victory cost Alexander only 120 men, and it made him 
master of all Asia Minor. During the next few months he set 
up democracies in the Greek cities, and organized the govern- 
ment of the various provinces. 

b. The Mediterranean Coast : Battle of Issus. — To strike at 
the heart of the empire at once would have been to leave be- 
hind him a large Persian fleet, to encourage revolt in Greece. 
Alexander wisely determined to secure the entire coast, and 
so protect his rear, before marching into the interior. Ac- 
cordingly he turned south, just after crossing the mountains 
that separate Asia Minor from Syria, to reduce Phoenicia and 
Egypt. Meantime the Persians had gathered a great army; 
but at Issus Alexander easily overthrew their host of six hun- 
dred thousand men led by King Darius in person. Darius 
allowed himself to be caught in a narrow defile between the 
mountains and the sea. The cramped space made the vast 
numbers of the Persians an embarrassment to themselves. 
They soon became a huddled mob of fugitives, and the Mace- 
donians wearied themselves with slaughter. 

Alexander 7ioiv assunied the title, King of Persia. The siege 
of Tyre (§ 57) detained him a year ; but Egypt welcomed him 
as a deliverer, and by the close of 332, all the sea poiver of the 
Eastern Mediterranean ivas his} While in Egypt he showed his 

1 Carthage dominated the western waters of the Mediterranean ~ beyond 
Italy ; but she had nothing to do with naval rivalries farther east. 



§279] PERSIAN CAMPAIGNS 271 

constructive genius by founding Alexandria, a city destined for 
many centuries to be a commercial and intellectual center for 
the world. 

c. The Tigris-Euphrates District : Battle of Arbela. — Darius 
now proposed that he and Alexander should divide the empire 
between them. Kejecting this offer contemptuously, Alexander 
took up his march for the interior. While following the ancient 
route from Egypt to Assyria (§ 6) he visited Jerusalem, was 
received with great honor by the high priest and granted the 
Jews considerable privileges. He met Darius near Arbela, 
not far from ancient Nineveh. Alexander purposely allowed 
him choice of time and place, and by a third decisive victory 
proved the hopelessness of resistance. Darius never gathered 
another army. The capitals of the empire — Babylon, Susa, 
Ecbatana, Persepolis — surrendered, with enormous treasure 
in gold and silver, and the Persian Empire had fallen (3S1 b.c.)^ 

The Granicus, Issus, and Arbela rank with Marathon, Salamis, and 
Plataea, as " decisive " battles. The earlier set of three great battles 
gave Western civilization a chance to develop. This second set of three 
battles resulted in a new type of civilization, springing from a union of 
East and West. No battle between these two periods had anywhere 
near so great a significance. 

279. Campaigns in the Far East. — The next six years went, 
however, to much more desperate warfare in the eastern moun- 
tain regions, and in the Punjab.^ Alexander carried his arms 
as far east from Babylon as Babylon was from Macedonia. 
He traversed great deserts ; subdued the warlike and princely 
chiefs of Bactria and Sogdiana up to the steppes of the wild 
Tartar tribes beyond the Oxus ; twice forced the passes 
of the Hindukush (a feat almost unparalleled) ; conquered 
the valiant mountaineers of what is now Afghanistan ; and 
led his army into the fertile and populous plains of north- 
ern India. He crossed the Indus, won realms beyond the 
ancient Persian province of the Punjab, and planned still 

1 A district of northern India. 



272 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§280 

more distant empires; but on the banks of the Hyphasis 
Eiver his faithful Macedonians refused to be led farther, to 
waste away in inhuman perils ; and the chagrined conqueror 
was compelled to return to Babylon. This city he made his 
capital, and here he died of a fever two years later (323 b.c.) in 
the midst of preparations to extend his conquests both east 
and west.^ These last years, however, were given mainly to 
organizing the empire (§ 280). 

280. Merging of East and West. — Alexander began his con- 
quest to avenge the West upon the East. But he came to see 
excellent and noble qualities in Oriental life, and he rose 
rapidly to a broader view. He aimed no longer to hold a 
world in subjection by the force of a small conquering tribe 
but rather to mold Persian and Greek into one people on terms 
of equality. He wished to marry the East and the West, — 
" to bring them together into a composite civilization, to which 
each should contribute its better elements." 

Persian youth were trained by thousands in Macedonian 
fashion to replace the veterans of Alexander's army ; Persian 
nobles were welcomed at court and given high offices ; and the 
government of Asia was intrusted largely to Asiatics, on a 
system similar to that of Darius the Great (§ 76). Alexander 
himself adopted Persian manners and customs, and he bribed 
and coaxed his officers and soldiers to do the like. All this 
was part of a deliberate design to encourage the fusion of the 
two peoples. The Macedonians protested jealously, and even 
rebelled, but were quickly reduced to obedience. 

" The dream of his youth melted away, but a new vision in larger 
perspective arose with ever strengthening outlines in its place. The 
champion of the West against the East faded in mist, and the form of a 
world monarch, standing above the various worlds of men and belong- 
ing to none, but molding them all into one, emerged in its stead." — 
Wheeler, Alexander the Great. 376. 



1 Topic : anecdotes of Alexander's later years ; the change in his character. 
Wheeler's Alexander gives an ardent defense. 



282] 



GREEK CITIES IN THE EAST 



273 



281. Hellenism the Active Element. — At the same time Alex- 
ander saw that to fulfill this mission he must throw open the 
East to Greek ideas. The races might mingle their blood ; the 
Greek might learn much from the Orient, and in the end be 
absorbed by it ; hut the tliouglit and art of little Hellas, ivith its 
active energy, must leaven 
the vast passive mass of 
the East. 

One great measure, for 
this end, was the found- 
ing of chains of cities, to 
bind the conquests to- 
gether and to become the 
homes of Hellenic influ- 
ence. Alexander himself 
built seventy of these 
towns (usually called from 
his name, like the Alex- 
andria in Egypt). Their 
walls sprang up under the 
pick and spade of the sol- 
diery along the lines of 
march. One great city, we 
are told, walls and houses, 
was completed in twenty 
days. Sometimes these places were mere garrison towns on dis- 
tant frontiers, but oftener they became mighty emporiums at the 
intersection of great lines of trade. There was an Alexandria 
on the Jaxartes, on. the Indus, on the Euphrates, as well as on 
the Nile. The sites were chosen wisely, and many of these cities 
remain great capitals to this day, like Herat and Kandahar.^ 

282. Greek Colonies in the Orient. — This building of Greek 
cities was continued by Alexander's successors. Once more, 
and on a vaster scale than ever before, the Greek genius for 




Alexander as Apollo. 
Now in the Capitoline Museum. 



1 Iskandar, or Kandahar, is an Oriental form of the Greek name Alexander. 



274 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§ 282 

colonization found vent. Each neiv city had a Greek nucleus. 
Usually this consisted only of worn-out veterans, left behind as 
a garrison ; but enterprising youth, emigrating from old Hellas, 
continued to reinforce the Greek element. The native village 
people roundabout were gathered in to make the bulk of the 
inhabitants ; and these also soon took on Greek character. 
From scattered, ignorant rustics, they became artisans and 
merchants, devotedly attached to Greek rule and zealous 
disciples of Greek culture. 

The cities were all built on a large and comfortable model. 
They were well paved. They had ample provision for light- 
ing by night, and a good water supply. They had police 
arrangements, and good thoroughfares. Even in that despotic 
East, they received extensive privileges and enjoyed a large 
amount of self-government : they met in their own assemblies, 
managed their own courts, and collected their own taxes^ 
For centuries they made the backbone of Hellenism throughout 
the world. Greek was the ordinary speech of their streets ; 
Greek architecture built their temples, and Greek sculpture 
adorned them ; they celebrated Greek games and festivals ; 
and, no longer in little Hellas alone, but over the whole East, 
in Greek theaters, vast audiences were educated by the plays 
of Euripides. The culture developed by a small people became 
the heritage of a vast world. 

The unity of this widespread civilization cannot be insisted upon too 
strongly. Political unity was soon lost ; but the oneness of culture en- 
dured for centuries, and kept its character even after Roman conquest. 
Over all that vast area there was for all cultivated men a common lan- 
guage, a common literature, a common mode of thought. The mingling 
of East and West produced a new civilization^ — a Graeco-Oriental world. 

In our own day, Western civilization is again transforming the Orient, 
leaving the railroad, the telegraph, free schools, and republican govern- 
ment in its line of march, — a march that reaches even farther than 
Alexander ever did. Between Alexander's day and ours, no like phe- 
nomena has been seen on any scale so vast. But this time the West 
does not give so large a part of its blood to the East ; nor does the East 
react upon the West, as it did after Alexander (§ 283). 



§285] REACTION UPON GREECE 275 

283. Reaction upon Hellas. — Hellas itself lost importance. 
It was drained of its intellect and enterprise, because adven- 
turous young Greeks wandered to the East, to win fortune and 
distinction. And the victorious Hellenic civilization was 
modified b}^ its victory, even in its old home. Sympathies 
were broadened. The barrier between Greek and barbarian 
faded away. Greek ideals were affected by Oriental ideals. 

In particular, we note two forms of reaction upon Greek 
life, — the economic and the scientific (§§ 284, 285). 

284. Economic Results. — Wealth was enormously augmented. 
The vast treasure of gold and silver which Oriental monarchs 
had hoarded in secret vaults was thrown again into circulation, 
and large sums were brought back to Europe by returning 
adventurers. These adventurers brought back also an increased 
desire for Oriental luxuries. Thus, trade was stimulated ; a 
higher standard of living arose ; manifold new comforts and 
enjoyments adorned and enriched life. 

Somewhat later, perhaps as a result of this increase of wealth, 
there came other less fortunate changes. Extremes of wealth 
and poverty appeared side by side, as in our modern society : the 
great cities had their hungry, sullen, dangerous mobs; and 
socialistic agitation began on a large scale. These last phe- 
nomena, however, concerned only the closing days of the 
Hellenic world, just before its absorption by Rome. 

285. Scientific Results. — A new era of scientific progress 
began. Alexander himself had the zeal of an explorer, and one 
of the most important scientific expeditions ever sent out by 
any government is due to him while he was in India. When 
he first touched the Indus, he thought it the upper course of 
the Nile ; but he built a great fleet of two thousand vessels, 
sailed down the river to the Indian Ocean, and then sent his 
friend Nearchus to explore that sea and to trace the coast to 
the mouth of the Euphrates. After a voyage of many months, 
Nearchus reached Babylon. He had mapped the coast line, 
made frequent landings, and collected a ma^s of observations 
and a multitude of strange plants and animals. 



276 THE HELLENISTIC AGE [§286 

Like collections were made by Alexander at other times, to 
be sent to his old instructor Aristotle, who embodied the results 
of his study upon them in a Natural History of fifty volumes. 
The Greek intellect, attracted by the marvels in the new world 
opened before it, turned to scientific observation and arrange- 
ment of facts. This impulse wa^ intensified by the discovery 
of a long series of astronomical observations at Babylon (§ 49) 
and of the historical records and traditions of the Orientals, 
reaching back to an antiquity of which the Greeks had not 
dreamed. The active Greek mind, seizing upon this confused 
wealth of material, began to put in order a great system of 
knowledge about man and nature. 

286. Summary. — Thus the mingling of East and West gave 
a product different from either of the old factors. Alexander's 
victories are not merely events in military history. They 
make an epoch in the onward march of humanity. They en- 
larged the map of the world once more, and they made these 
vaster spaces the home of a higher culture. They grafted the 
new West upon the old East, — a graft from which sprang the 
civilization of imperial Rome. 

Alexander died at thirty-two, and his empire at once fell 
into fragments, Had he lived to seventy, it is hard to say 
what he might not have done to provide for lasting political 
union, and perhaps even to bring India and China into the 
current of our civilization. 



For Further Reading. — Specially suggested: Davis' Headings, 
Vol. I, Nos. 108-118 (24 pages, mostly from Arrian, a second century 
writer and the earliest authority who has left us an account of Alexander) . 
Bury, 736-836. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD 
THE POLITICAL STORY 

287. Wars of the Succession. — Alexander left no heir old 
enough to succeed him. On his deathbed, asked to whom he 
would leave his throne, he replied grimly, " To the strongest." 
As he foresaw, at his death his leading generals instantly 
began to strive with each other for his realm ; and for nearly 
half a century the political history of the civilized world was 
a horrible welter of war and assassination. These struggles 
are called the Wais of the Succession (323-280 B.C.). 

288. The Third Century B.C. — Finally, about 280 b.c, some- 
thing like a fixed order emerged ; then followed a period of 
sixty years, known as the Glory of Hellenism. The Hellenistic ^ 
world reached from the Adriatic to the Indus, and consisted 
of: (1) three great kingdoms, Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia; 
(2) a broken chain of smaller monarchies scattered from Media 
to Epirus'^ (some of them, like Pontus and Armenia, under 
dynasties descended from Persian princes) ; and (3) single free 
cities like Byzantium. Some of these free cities united into 
leagues, which sometimes became great military powers — like 
one famous confederation under the leadership of Bhodes. 

289. Resemblance to Modern Europe. — Politically in many 
ways all the vast district bore a striking resemblance to modern 
Europe. There was a like division into great and small states, 
ruled by dynasties related by intermarriages ; there was a com- 
mon civilization, and a recognition of common interests as 

1 Hellenic refers to the old Hellas ; Hellenistic, to the wider world, of mixed 
Hellenic and Oriental character, after Alexander. 

2 There is a full enumeration in Mahaffy's Alexander's Empire, 90-92. 

277 



278 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 290 

against outside barbarism or as opposed to any non-Hellenic 
power, like Rome ; and there were jealousies and conflicts 
similar to those in Europe in recent centuries. There were 
shifting alliances, and many wars to preserve " the balance of 
power " or to secure trade advantages. There was a likeness 
to modern society, too, as we shall see more fully later, in the 
refinement of the age, in its excellences and its vices, the great 
learning, the increase in skill and in criticism. (Of course the 
age was vastly inferior to that of modern Europe.) It follows 
that the history of the third century is a history of many 
separate countries (§§ 292 ft'.). But there was one event of 
general interest. 

290. The Invasion by the Gauls. — Here we have to speak for 
the first time of the Gauls or Celts. (See § 8.) This nation 
had emigrated, as indeed had the other nations of Europe, from 
Asia. After inhabiting for some time parts of present Ger- 
many, they finally fixed their abodes somewhere northwest of 
the Alps. They soon occupied all present France, Britain, and 
Ireland, and a great part of Spain. To the south of Europe 
they were far more known for their prowess and thirst for 
conquest and plunder than for the other qualities to which 
they owe their place in history, namely, their remarkable 
talent for technical and literary skill and a still greater 
aptitude for religious enthusiasm. For the time being they 
were in a period of unrest. Large multitudes of them mi- 
grated to northern Italy and settled there. One of their bands 
penetrated into the very heart of the peninsula, defeated 
a Roman army and plundered and burned the city of Rome 
itself (§ 375). Other hordes traveled further west and 
settled in various places along the Danube, without, however, 
making them the goal of their wanderings. In fact, in their 
unsubdued aggressiveness they became for some time a stand- 
ing menace to the civilized nations on the shores of the 
Aegean Sea. 

One of these Gallic invasions, in b.c. 278, was the first really 
formidable attack upon the Eastern world since the Scythians 



§ 292] SYRIA 279 

had been chastised by the early Persian kings (§ 75). For- 
tunately it did not take place before the ruinous wars of the 
succession were over. The Gauls poured into exhausted Mace- 
donia and advanced into Greece as far as Delphi. They made 
a raid on the famous temple of Apollo to carry off its immense 
treasures. But somehow they were routed in disorder. Apollo, 
it was said, had driven them away with his thunderbolts. After 
horrible ravages they carried havoc into Asia. For a long 
period every great sovereign of the Hellenic world turned his 
arms upon them, until they were finally settled as peaceful 
colonists in a region of Asia Minor, which took the name 
Galatia from these new inhabitants.^ — The Hellenistic patriot- 
ism roused by this attack played a part in the splendid out- 
burst of art and literature which followed. 

291. Decline of the Hellenistic World. — About 220, the wide- 
spread Hellenistic world began a rapid decline. In that 
year the thrones of Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia fell to youth- 
ful heirs ; and all three of these new monarchs showed a 
degeneracy which is common in Oriental ruling families after 
a few generations of greatness. Just before this year, as we 
shall see (§ 310), the last promise of independence in Greece 
itself had flickered out. Just after it, there began an attack 
from Rome, which was finally to absorb this Hellenistic East 
into a still larger world. 

Before turning to the growth of Rome, however, we will note (i) the 
history, in brief, of the leading Hellenic states from Alexander to the 
Roman sway; (2) with more detail, an interesting attempt at federal 
government in Greece itself ; and (3) the character of Hellenistic culture 
in this period. 

SOME SINGLE EASTERN STATES IN OUTLINE 

292. Syria was the largest of the great monarchies. It com- 
prised most of Alexander's empire in Asia, except the small 



1 These new inhabitants preserved their national individuality for several 
centuries. St. Paul addressed one of his letters to " the Galatians." 



280 



THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD 



292 



states in Asia Minor. In the Wars of the Succession, it fell 
to Seleucus, one of the Macedonian generals ; and his descend- 
ants (Seleucidae) ruled it to the Roman conquest. They 




Pylon of Ptolemy III at Karnak. The reliefs represent that conqueror 
in religious thanksgiving, sacrificing, praying, offering trophies to the gods. 
At the top is the "conventionalized " winged sundisk. Cf. page 36. Note 
the general likeness to the older Egyptian architecture. 

excelled all other successors of Alexander in building cities 
and extending Greek culture over distant regions. Seleucus 
alone founded seventy-five cities. 



§ 294] EGYPT 281 

About 250 B.C. Indian princes reconquered the Punjab, and 
the Parthians arose on the northeast, to cut off the Bactrian 
provinces from the rest of the Greek world. Thus Syria 
shrank to the area of the ancient Assyrian Empire, — the 
Euphrates-Tigris basin and okl Syria proper, — but it was still, 
in common opinion, the greatest world-power, until its might 
was shattered by Rome in 190 b.c. at Magnesia. 

293. Egypt included Cyprus, and possessed a vague control 
over many coast towns of Syria and Asia Minor. Immedi- 
ately upon Alexander's death, one of his generals, Ptolemy, 
chose Egypt for his province. His descendants, all known as 
Ptolemies, ruled the land until Cleopatra yielded to Augustus 
Caesar (30 b.c), though it had become a Roman protectorate^ 
somewhat before that time. 

The early Ptolemies were wise, energetic sovereigns. They 
aimed to make Egypt the commercial emporium of the world, 
and to make their capital, Alexandria, the world's intellectual 
center. Ptolemy I established a great naval power, improved 
harbors, and built the first lighthouse. Ptolemy II (better 
known as Ptolemy Philadelphus) restored the old canal from 
the Red Sea to the Nile (§§ 28, 32), constructed roads, and 
fostered learning more than any great ruler before him (§ 319). 
Ptolemy III, in war with Syria, carried his arms to Bactria, 
and on his return mapped the coast of Arabia. Unlike earlier 
conquerors, he made no attempt to add territory to his realm 
by his victories, but only to secure trade advantages and a 
satisfactory peace. The later Ptolemies were weaklings or 
infamous monsters, guilty of every folly and crime ; but even 
they continued to encourage learning. 

294. Macedonia ceased to be of great interest after the death 
of Alexander, except from a military point of view. Its posi- 
tion made it the first part of the Greek world to come into 
hostile contact with Rome. King Philip V joined Carthage 
in a war against Rome, a little before the year 200 b.c. 

1 That is, Rome had come to control all the relations of Egypt with foreign 
countries, although its government continued in name to be independent. 



282 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 295 

A series of struggles resulted ; and Macedonia, witli parts of 
Greece, became Roman in 146 b.c. 

295. Rhodes and Pergamum. — Among the many small states, 
two deserve special mention. Rhodes headed a confederacy 
of cities in the Aegean, and in the third century she became 
the leading commercial state of the Mediterranean. Her policy 
was one of peace and freedom of trade. Pergamum was a small 
Greek kingdom in Asia Minor, which the genius of its rulers 
(the Attalids) made prominent in politics and art. When the 
struggles with Rome began, Pergamum allied itself with that 
power, and long remained a favored state. 

THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE IN GREECE 

296. The Political Situation. — During the ruinous Wars of 
the Succession, Greece had been a favorite battleground for 
the great powers, Egypt, Syria, and Macedonia. Many cities 
were laid waste, and at the close of the contests, the country 
was left a vassal of Macedonia. To make her hold firmer, 
Macedonia set up tyrants in many cities. From this humilia- 
tion, Greece was lifted for a time by a new power, the Achaean 
League, which made a last effort for the freedom of Hellas. 

297. Earlier Confederations. — In early times, in the more 
backward parts of Greece, there had been many rude federa- 
tions of tribes, as among the Phocians and Locrians ; but in 
city-Greece no such union had long survived. 

The failure of the Confederacy of Delos has been told. During the 
supremacy of Sparta (about 400 b.c.) another still more interesting federal 
union appeared for a brief time on the northern coast of the Aegean. 
Olynthus. a leading Greek city in the Chalcidic district, built up a con- 
federacy of forty states, to check the Thracian and Macedonian barbarians, 
who had begun to stir themselves after the fall of the Athenian power. 
This league is called the Olyntliian Confederacy. Its cities kept their 
local independence ; but they were merged, upon equal terms, into a large 
state more perfect than any preceding federal union. The citizens of any 
one city could intermarry with those of any other., and they could dwell 
and acquire landed property anywhere within the league ; while no one 
city had superior privileges over the others., as Athens had had in the 



§299] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 283 

Delian League. After only a short life, as we have seen, this promising 
union was crushed ruthlessly by jealous Sparta (§ 261). 

298. Aetolian League. — Now, after 280 b.c, two of the an- 
cient tribal federations whicli had survived in obscure corners 
of Greece — Achaea and Aetolia — began to play leading parts 
in history. 

Of these two, the Aetolian League was the less important. 
Originally it seems to have been a loose union of mountain 
districts for defense. But the Wars of the Succession made 
the Aetolians famous as bold soldiers of fortune, and the 
wealth brought home by the thousands of such adventurers 
led to a more aggressive policy on the part of the league. The 
people remained, however, rude mountaineers, " brave, boast- 
ful, rapacious, and utterly reckless of the rights of others.'' 
They played a part in saving southern Greece from the invad- 
ing Gauls (§ 290), but their confederacy became more and 
more an organization for lawless plunder. 

299. Achaean League : Origin. — In Achaea there was a nobler 
history. A league of small towns grew into a formidable 
power, freed most of Greece, brought much of it into a federal 
union, with all members on equal terms, and for a glorious 
half century maintained Greek freedom successfully. 

The story offers curious contrasts to the period of Athenian leadership 
two hundred years earlier. Greece could no longer hope to become one 
of the great military powers ; we miss the intellectual brilliancy, too, of 
the fifth century ; but the period affords even more instructive political 
lessons — especially to Americans, interested, as we are, in federal in- 
stitutions. The most important political matter in Greek history in 
the third century B.C. is this experiment in federal government. 

The people of Achaea were unwarlike, and not very enter- 
prising or intellectual. In all Greek history they produced 
no great writer or great artist. They did not even furnish 
great statesmen, — for all the heroes of the league were to 
come from outside Achaea itself. Still, the Achaean League 
is one of the most remarkable federations in history before 
the adoption of the present Constitution of the United States, 



284 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 300 

We know that there was some kind of a confederation in 
Achaea as early as the Persian War. Under the Macedonian 
rule, the league was destroyed and tyrants were set up in 
several of the ten Achaean cities. But, about 280 B.C., four 
small towns revived the ancient confederacy. This union 
swiftly drove out the tyrants from the neighboring towns, and 
absorbed all Achaea. One generous incident belongs to this 
part of the story: Iseas, tyrant of Cerynea, voluntarily gave 
up his power and brought his city into the league. 

So far Macedonia had not interfered. The Gallic invasion 
just at this time spread ruin over all the north of Hellas, 
and probably prevented hostile action by the Macedonian 
king. Thus the federation became securely established. 

300. Government. — During this period the constitution was 
formed. The chief authority of the league was placed in a 
Federal Assembly. This was not a representative body, but a 
mass meeting: it was made up of all citizens of the league 
who chose to attend. To prevent the city where the meeting 
was held from outweighing the others, each city was given 
only one vote. That is, ten or twelve men — or even one man 
— from a distant town cast the vote of that city, and counted 
just as much as several hundred from a city nearer the place 
of meeting. The Assembly was held twice a year, for only 
three days at a time, and in some small city, so that a great 
capital should not overshadow the rest of the league. It chose 
yearly a Council of Ten, a Senate, and a General (or president), 
with various subordinate officers. The same General could not 
be chosen two years in succession. 

This government raised federal taxes and armies, and rep- 
resented the federation in all foreign relations. Each city 
remained a distinct state, with full control over all its internal 
matters — but no city of itself could make peace or war, enter 
into alliances, or send ambassadors to another state. That is, 
the Achaean League was a true federation, and not a mere 
alliance ; and its cities corresponded closely to the American 
States under our old Articles of Confederation. 



§302] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 285 

301. Faults in the Government. — In theory, the constitution 
was extremely democratic : in practice, it proved otherwise. 
Men attended the Assembly at their own expense. Any 
Achaean might come, but only the tvealthy could afford to do so, 
as a regular thing. Moreover, since the meetings of the As- 
sembly were few and brief, great authority had to be left to 
the General and Council. Any Achaean was eligible to these 
offices ; but poor men could hardly afford to take them, because 
they had no salaries. The Greek system of a primary assembly 
was suited only to single cities. A 2)rimary assembly made the 
city of Athens a perfect democracy : the same institution made 
the Achaean League intensely aristocratic. 

The constitution was an advance over all other Greek federa- 
tions, but it had two other faults. (1) It made little use of 
representation, which no doubt would have seemed to the 
Achaeans undemocratic (§ 128), but which in practice would 
have enabled a larger part of the citizens to have a voice in 
the government; and (2) all cities, great or small, had the 
same vote. 

This last did not matter much at first, for the little Achaean 
towns did not differ greatly in size; but it became a plain 
injustice when the union came later to contain some of the 
most powerful cities in Greece. However, this feature was 
almost universal in early confederacies,^ and it was the prin- 
ciple of the American Union until 1789. 

302. First Expansion beyond Achaea. — The power of the Gen- 
eral was so great that the history of the league is the biog- 
raphy of a few great men. The most remarkable of these 

1 The one exception was the Lycian Confederacy in Asia Minor. The 
Lyciaus were not Greeks, apparently ; but they had taken on some Greek 
culture, and their federal union was an advance even upon the Achaean. 
It was absorbed by Rome, however, in 54 a.d., before it played an important 
part in history. In its Assembly, the vote was taken by cities, hut the cities 
were divided into three classes : the largest had three votes each, the next class 
two each, and. the smallest onhj one. In the Philadelphia Convention, in 1787, 
several American statesmen wished to adopt this Lycian plan for our States 
in the Federal Congress. 



286 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§303 

leaders was Aratus of Sicyon. Sicyon was a city just outside 
Achaea, to the east. It had been ruled by a vile and bloody 
tyrant, who drove many leading citizens into exile. Among 
these exiles was the family of Aratus. When a youth of 
twenty years (251 b.c.) Aratus planned, by a night attack, 
to overthrow the tyrant and free his native city. The daring 
venture was brilliantly successful; but it aroused the hatred 
of Macedon, and, to preserve the freedom so nobly won, 
Aratus brought Sicyon into the Achaean federation. 

303. Aratus.^ — Five years later, Aratus was elected Gen- 
eral of the league, and thereafter, he held that office each 
alternate year (as often as the constitution permitted) until 
his death, thirty-two years later. 

Aratus hated tyrants, and longed for a free and united 
Greece. He extended the league far beyond the borders of 
Achaea, and made it a champion of Hellenic freedom. He 
aimed at a noble end, but did not refuse base means. He was 
incorruptible himself, and he lavished his vast wealth on the 
union; but he was bitterly jealous of other leaders. With 
plenty of daring in a dashing project, as he many times proved, 
he lacked nerve to command in battle, and he never won a real 
victory in the field. Still, despite his many defeats, his per- 
suasive power and his merits kept him the confidence of the 
union to the end of a long public life. 

304. Growth of the League ; Lydiadas. — In his second gen- 
eralship, Aratus freed Corinth from her Macedonian tyrant by 
a desperate night attack upon the garrison of the citadel. 
That powerful city then entered the union. So did Megara, 
which itself drove out its Macedonian garrison. The league 
now commanded the isthmus, and was safe from attack by 
Macedonia. Then several cities in Arcadia joined, and, in 
234, Megalopolis (§ 265) was added, — at that time one of the 
leading cities in Greece. 

1 Aratus is the first statesman known to us from his own memoirs. That 
work itself no longer exists, but Plutarch drew upon it for his Life, as did 
Polybius for his History. 



305] 



THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 



287 



Some years earlier the government of Megalopolis had be- 
come a tyranny : LydiacJas, a gallant and enthusiastic youth, 
seized despotic power, meaning to use it for good ends.^ The 
growth of the Achaean League opened a nobler way : Lydiadaa 
resigned his tyranny, and as a private citizen brought the Great 
City into the union. This act made him a popular hero, and 
Aratus became his 



MGEAN 



bitter foe. The new 
leader was the more 
lovable figure, — gen- 
erous and ardent, a 
soldier as well as a 
statesman. Several 
times he became Gen- 
eral of the league, but 
even in office he was 
often thwarted by the 
disgraceful trickery of 
the older man. 

305. The Freeing of 
Athens and Argos. — 
For many years Ara- 
tus had aimed to free 
Athens and Argos — 
sometimes by heroic 
endeavors, sometimes 
by assassination and 

poison. In 229, he succeeded. He bought the withdrawal of 
Macedonian troops from the Piraeus, and Athens became an 
ally, though not a member, of the league.^ The tyrant of 
Argos was persuaded or frightened into following the example 




THE ACHAEAN AND AETOLIAN LEAGUES, 
ABOUT 225 B.C. 



1 This was true of several tyrants in this age, and it was due no douht in 
part to the new respect for monarchy since Alexander's time, and in part to 
new theories of government taught by the philosophers. 

2 The old historic cities, Athens and Sparta, could not be brought to look 
favorably upon such a union. 



288 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§ 306 

of Iseas and Lydiadas, — as had happened meanwhile in many 
smaller cities, — and Argos joined the confederacy. 

The league now was the commanding power in Hellas. It 
included all Peloponnesus except Sparta and Elis. Moreover, 
all Greece south of Thermopylae had become free, — largely 
through the influence of the Achaean league, — and most of 
the states not inside the union had at least entered into friendly 
alliance with it. But now came a fatal conflict with Sparta. 

306. Need of Social Reforms in Sparta. — The struggle was 
connected with a great reform within that ancient city. The 
forms of the "Lycurgan" constitution had survived through 
many centuries, but now Sparta had only seven hundred full 
citizens (cf. §§ 254, 263). This condition brought about a 
violent agitation for reform. And about the year 243, Agis, 
one of the Spartan kings, set himself to do again what Lycurgus 
had done in legend. 

307. Agis was a youthful hero, full of noble daring and pure 
enthusiasm. He gave his own property to the state and per- 
suaded his relatives and friends to do the like. He planned 
to abolish all debts, and to divide the land among forty-five 
hundred Spartan " Inferiors " (§ 254) and fifteen thousand 
other Lacouians, so as to refound the state upon a broad and 
democratic basis. Agis could easily have won by violence ; 
but he refused such methods, and sought his ends by con- 
stitutional means only. The conservative party rose in fierce 
opposition. By order of the Ephors, the young king was 
seized, with his noble mother and grandmother, and murdered 
in prison, — "the purest and noblest spirit that ever perished 
through deeming others as pure and noble as himself." 

308. Cleomenes. — But the ideals of the martyr lived on. 
His wife was forced to marry Cleomenes, son of the other king; 
and, //-om her, this prince adopted the hopes of Agis. Cleomenes 
became king in 236. He had less of high sensitiveness and of 
stainless honor than Agis, but he is a grand and colossal 
figure. He bided his time ; and then, when the Ephors were 
planning to use force against him, he struck first. 



§310] THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 289 

Aratus had led the Achaean League into war ^ with Sparta 
in order to unite all the Peloponnesus ; but the military genius 
of Cleomenes made even enfeebled Sparta a match for the 
great league. He won two great victories. Then, the league 
being helpless for the moment, he used his popularity to secure 
reform in Sparta. The oligarchs were plotting against him, 
but he was enthusiastically supported by the disfranchised 
multitudes. Leaving his Spartan troops at a distance, he 
hurried to the city by forced marches with some chosen 
followers. There he seizer"" and slew the Ephors, and pro- 
claimed a new constitution, which contained the reforms of 
Agis. 

309. Sparta Victorious over the League. — Cleomenes designed 
to make this new Sparta the head of the Peloponnesus. He 
and Aratus each desired a free, united Greece, but under 
different leadership. Moreover, Sparta now stood forth the 
advocate of a kind of socialism, and so was particularly hate- 
ful to the aristocratic government of the league. 

The struggle between the two powers was renewed with 
fresh bitterness. Cleomenes won more victories, and then, 
with the league at his feet, he offered generous terms. He 
demanded that Sparta be admitted to the union as virtual 
leader. This would have created the greatest power ever seen 
in Greece, and, for the time, it would have made a free Hellas 
sure. The Achaeans were generally in favor of accepting the 
proposal; but Aratus — jealous of Cleomenes and fearful of 
social reform — broke off the negotiations by underhanded 
methods. 

310. Aratus calls in Macedon. — Then Aratus bought the aid 
of ^lacedon against Sparta, by betray ing Corinth, a free member 
of the league and the city connected with his own most 
glorious exploit. As a result, the federation became a pi'Otector- 
ate of Macedonia, holding no relations with foreign states 
except through that power. The war now became a struggle 

1 In a battle in this war Aratus held back the Achaean phalanx, while 
Lydiadas, heading a gallant charge, was overpowered by numbers. 



290 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§311 

for Greek freedom, waged by Sparta under her hero king 
against the overwhelming power of ]\Iacedon assisted by the 
confederacy as a vassal state. Aratus had undone his own 
great work. 

The date (222 b.c.) coincides with the general decline of the 
Hellenic world (§ 291). For a while, Sparta showed surprising 
vigor, and Cleomenes was marvelously successful. The league 
indeed dwindled to a handful of petty cities. But in the end 
Macedonia prevailed. Cleomenes fled to Egypt, to die in 
exile ; and Sparta opened her gates for the first time to a con- 
quering army. The league was restored to its old extent, but 
its glory was gone. It still served a useful purpose in keeping 
peace and order over a large part of Peloponnesus, but it was 
no longer the champion of a free ilellas. 

311. Final Decline. — Soon after, war followed between 
Achaea and Aetolia. This contest became a struggle between 
Macedonia and her vassals on the one side, and Aetolia aided 
by Rome on the other ; for as Achaea had called in Macedonia 
against Sparta, so now Aetolia called in Rome against Achaea 
and Macedonia, — and Greek history closed. 

Some gleams of glory shine out at the last in the career of 
Philopoemen of Megalopolis, the greatest general the Achaean 
League ever produced, and one of the noblest characters in 
history ; but the doom of Achaea was already sealed. " Philo- 
poemen," says Freeman, " was one of the heroes who struggle 
against fate, and who are allowed to do no more than to stave 
off a destruction which it is beyond their power to avert." 
These words are a fitting epitaph for the great league itself. 

HELLENISTIC SOCIETY 

312. General Culture. — From 280 to 150 b.c. was the period 
of chief splendor for the new, widespread Hellenism. It was 
a great and fruitful age. Society was refined ; the position of 
woman improved ; private fortunes abounded, and private 
houses possessed works of art which, in earlier times, would 
have been found only in palaces or temples. For the reverse 



§314] LITERATURE 291 

side, there was corruption in high places, and hungry and 
threatening mobs at the base of society. 

Among the countless cities, all homes of culture, five great 
intellectual centers appeared — Athens, Alexandria, Rhodes, 
Pergamos, Antioch. The glory of Alexandria extended over 
the whole period, which is sometimes known as the Alexan- 
drian age ; the others held a special preeminence, one at one 
time, one at another. Athens, however, always excelled in 
philosophy, and Rhodes in oratory.^ 

313. Literature. — The many-sided age produced new forms 
in art and literature: especially, (1) the jyrose romance, a story 
of love and adventure, the forerunner of the modern novel ; 
(2) the pastoral poetry of Theocritus, which was to influence 
Virgil and Tennyson ; and (3) personal memoirs. The old 
Attic comedy, too, became the " New Comedy "' of Menander 
and his followers, devoted to satirizing gently the life and 
manners of the time. 

In general, no doubt, the tendency in literature was toward 
critical scholarship rather than toward great and fresh crea- 
tion. Floods of books appeared, more notable for style than 
matter. Treatises on literary criticism abounded; the science 
of grammar was developed ; and poets prided themselves upon 
writing all kinds of verse equally well. Intellectually, in its 
faults, as in its virtues, the time strikingly resembles our own. 

314. Painting and Sculpture. — Painting gained prominence. 
Zeuxis, Parrhasius, and Apelles are the most famous Greek 
names connected with this art, which was now carried to great 
perfection. According to popular stories, Zeuxis painted a 
cluster of grapes so that birds pecked at them, while Apelles 
painted a horse so that real horses neighed at the sight. 

Despite the attention given to painting, Greek sculpture 
produced some of its greatest work in this period. Multitudes 
of splendid statues were created — so abundantly, indeed, that 
even the names of the artists are not preserved. 

315. Greek Philosophy after Socrates. — Plato. We may dis- 

1 Caesar and Cicero studied oratory at Rliodes. 



292 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§316 

tinguisli three periods, corresponding to the three chief divi- 
sions of remaining Greek history.^ 

For the Period of Spartan and Theban Leadership. — The 
most famous disciple of Socrates is known to the world under 
the name Plato, the "broad-browed." This name and that 
of his pupil Aristotle are among the greatest in the history 
of thought. Plato elaborated a vast and consistent system of 
Philosophy. He strikingly displays before us the infinite 
greatness, goodness, and wisdom of God — One God — His 
sovereignty over the world, the spirituality and immortality 
of the soul and the reward of virtue and punishment of vice. 
He also preserved some traditions of man's original innocence, 
his fall from grace, and the existence of superior intelligences 
between God and man. But many of his teachings rest on no 
solid reasonings and the gross errors mixed with them show 
the limitation of most highly gifted human minds. 

Truth and error are most strangely mixed in his theory of 
Ideas. Nothing is in existence except by partaking of an idea. 
A man is kind, for instance, only because he has in him a share 
of the idea of kindness. The idea itself is eternal and inde- 
structible. The ideas in our minds were not acquired ; we 
possessed them before we came into our present existence. In 
spite of such and similar deficiencies his philosophy, taken as 
a whole, exhibits a noble, powerful, and poetic mind, grappling 
with the important problems of life and of the world around 
us with considerably more success than any of his predecessors. 

316. Aristotle. — Tlie Macedonian Period. Aristotle, for 
twenty years Plato's disciple, by far outshines his master. 
He gave to the world the most comprehensive system of uni- 
versal knowledge, whose basic principles will ever be recog- 
nized by the thinkers of the world. In his investigations he 
proceeds directly from life and experience. There has hardly 
ever been a man in whom the keenest power of observation 

1 It is impossible to do justice to Greek pliilosopliy in general and much 
less to the present period in a book like this. Histories of philosophy, as 
Turner's or Coppens', must be consulted if full information is desired. 



§ 317] LITERATURE 293 

was combined with so much intellectual penetration, bold gen- 
eralizing, and careful deduction. The ideas in our minds are 
acquired through the operation of the senses, which convey to 
the intellect the material upon which the latter begins its 
activity and rises to spiritual (immaterial) concepts. Ideas 
are eternal only as far as the knowledge of things was from 
all eternity in the infinite mind of God. 

Aristotle's system, though not free from serious shortcom- 
ings, is so perfect that its chief outlines and very much of its 
details became the fundamental doctrines of the great Chris- 
tian philosophers of the Middle Ages. St. Thomas and the 
other scholastics refer to him simply as " The Philosopher." 

Reverend William Turner thus ends his estimate of Aristo- 
telian Philosophy : — 

" Aristotle's philosophy is the synthesis and culmination of the specula- 
tions of pre-Socratic and Socratic schools. His doctrine of causes is an 
epitome of all that Greek philosophy had up to his time accomplished. 
But it is especially with Plato, his master, that Aristotle is to be compared, 
and it is by his additions to Platonic teaching that he is to be judged. 
Plato built out of the ruins of pre-Socratic speculation a complete meta- 
physical structure according to a definite plan, — a structure beautiful in 
its outlines, perfect in its symmetry, but insecure and unstable, like one 
of those golden palaces of fairyland, which we fear to approach and 
examine lest it vanish into airy nothingness. Aristotle, on the contrary, 
drew his plan with a firmer hand ; he laid the foundation of his phi- 
losophy deep on the rock bottom of experience, and although all the 
joints in the fabric are not equally secure, the care and consistency with 
which the design is executed are apparent to every observer. It was left 
for Scholastic philosophy to add the pinnacle to the structure, which 
Aristotle had carried as far towards completion as human thought could 
build unaided." {Hist, of Philos., p. 157.) 

317. Minor Philosophic Systems. — After Alexander. Two 
schools are best described by stating that they tried to answer 
the question : How can man become happy ? T7ie Stoics, so 
called from the Stoa^ where their founder Zeno used to teach, 

1 For explanation of this term see description of map on page 206. Zeno 
taught in the hall called "the Painted" from its famous wall paintings. 
Besides the fact that it was situated north of the Agora little is known about 



294 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§317 

replied : By practicing virtue, i.e. by complete submission to 
the laws of man's nature and of the world around us. All 
passions and emotions must be subdued and annihilated. 
Everything happens with an unchangeable necessity ; bear 
patiently and without feeling what cannot be avoided. The 
principle of the Epicureans was : Calculate so that you may 
derive from your life the greatest possible amount of pleasure 
and the smallest amount of pain. The caution, feeble enough 
in itself, that this requires frugality, simple habits, friendship, 
and abstinence from excess, was widely disregarded by the 
practical followers of this theory. It must be borne in mind, 
however, that both these answers are only the necessary con- 
clusions from their cardinal concepts of the world and the 
divinity, which were completely wrong. Stoics as well as 
Epicureans believed in a kind of general brotherhood of men. 
At this time the Skeptics (Considerers) made their appear- 
ance, who maintained everything must be doubted ; one should 
not worry about anything that occurs, because it might after all 
not even be real. The Eclectics did not attempt to introduce 
anything like a real new philosophy. They looked only for 
some common basis on which to found a system of practical 
conduct. For this purpose they " selected " whatever they 
thought correct in any system. Hence their name. 

One more school should be mentionod here, though it belongs chiefly to 
an earlier period, namely the Cynics. They are somewhat similar in 
doctrine to the Stoics ; in fact, Zeno the Stoic was one of them for some 
time. They were one-sided followers of Socrates. According to them the 
essence of virtue is self-control, by which they understood the complete 
absence of all material and accidental needs. They ostentatiously threw 
away all the comforts of life and sneered at the relations of family life and 
the love and laws of country and religion. With the immorality of the 



its location. Similarly Plato's school is often styled the Academics, from the 
Academy, a building somewhere in the outskirts of the city, where he used to 
assemble his hearers. Aristotle would walk about with his disciples in the 
shady avenues of the Lyceum (see map), while conversing with them; hence 
the name of Peripatetics was given to them, from a Greek verb meaning 
to walk up and down. 



§319] PHILOSOPHY 295 

time, which they pretended to combat, they also rejected its morality and 
culture. All was nothing to them, because they said they needed nothing 
and nobody. One of them, Diogenes, lived for many years in a tub.^ The 
word Cynic means doglike. It is easy to see the connection between the 
name and their conduct. 

318. New Character of Philosophy. — Philosophy, after Socra- 
tes, took on a more moral and practical character. Educated 
people desired to have some rules and principles according 
to which to guide themselves in their actions. Philosophers 
became the teachers of conduct. As far as they reflected 
the truths proclaimed by nature in every man's heart or the 
glimpses of supernatural revelation which had survived or 
been obtained through some contact with the Hebrews, they 
did a great service to mankind and contributed their share 
towards the reception of Christianity. In the complete absence 
of any real religious teaching they performed in an imperfect 
way the office of our clergy. But after all, they benefited only 
the man of leisure. The people in the street, the toilers and 
slaves, were not as much as thought of when the philosopher 
discoursed gravely on happiness or the moral rights and duties 
of man. 

319. Libraries and ''Museums"' ("Universities"). — The clos- 
ing age of Hellenistic history saw the forerunner of the modern 
university. The beginning was made at Athens. Plato (§ 315), 
by his will, left his gardens and other property to his followers, 
organized in a club. Athenian law did not recognize the right 
of any group of people to hold property, unless it were a re- 
ligious body. Therefore this club claimed to be organized for 
the worship of the Muses, who were the patrons of literature 
and learning ; and the name museum was given to the institu- 
tion. This loas the first endowed academy, and the first union of 
teachers and learners into a corporation."^ 



1 Special report : the stories of Diogenes. 

2 A corporation is a body of men recognized by the law as a " person " so 
far as property rights go. 



296 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§320 

The idea has never since died out of the world. The model 
and name were used a little later by the Ptolemies at Alexan- 
dria in their Museum. This was a richly endowed institution, 
with large numbers of students. It had a great library of over 
half a million volumes (manuscripts), with scribes to make 
careful copies of them and to make their meaning more clear, 
when necessary, by explanatory notes. It had also observa- 
tories and botanical and zoological gardens, with collections of 
rare plants and animals from distant parts of the world. The 
librarians, and the other scholars who were gathered about the 
institution, devoted their lives to a search for knowledge and 
to teaching ; and so they corresponded to the faculty of a 
modern university. 

"The external appearance [of the Museum] was that of a group of 
buildings which served a common purpose — temple of the Muses, library, 
porticoes, dwellings, and a hall for meals, which were taken together. 
The inmates were a community of scholars and poets, on whom the king 
bestowed the honor and privilege of being allowed to work at his expense 
with all imaginable assistance ready to hand. . . . The managing board 
was composed of priests, but the most influential post was that of libra- 
rian." — Holm, History of Greece., IV, 307. 

One enterprise, of incalculable benefit to the later world, shows the 
zeal of the Ptolemies in collecting and translating texts. Alexandria had 
many Jews in its population, but they were coming to use the Greek 
language. Philadelphus, for their benefit, had the Hebrew Scriptures 
translated into Greek. This is the famous Septua(jint translation, so 
called from the tradition that it was the work of seventy scholars. 

320. Science made greater strides than ever before in an 
equal length of time. Medicine, surgery, botany, and mechan- 
ics became real sciences for the first time. Archimedes of 
Syracuse discovered the principle of the lever, and of specific 
gravity, and constructed burning mirrors and new hurling 
engines which made effective siege artillery.^ Euclid, a Greek 
at Alexandria, building upon the old Egyptian knowledge, pro- 
duced the geometry which is still taught in our schools with 

1 See Davis' Readings, Vol. H, No. 27. 



320] 



SCIENCE 



297 



little addition. Eratosthenes (born 276 B.C.), the librarian at 
Alexandria, wrote a systematic work on geography, invented 
delicate astronomical instruments, and devised the present 
way of measuring the circumference of the earth — with 
results nearly correct. A little later, Aristarchus taught that 
the earth moved round the sun ; and Hipparchus calculated 
eclipses, catalogued the stars, wrote books on astronomy, and 



^^^" 



PER THULEN 



■> 7 lERNE^ 








Bactriana ^^iiA 




THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ERATOSTHENES 



(The Latin names are taken from Strabo, two centuries later, 
who closely followed Eratosthenes.) 



founded the science of trigonometry. Aristotle had already 
given all the proofs of the sphericity of the earth that are 
common in our text-books now (except that of actual circum- 
navigation) and had asserted that men could probably reach Asia 
by sailing ivest from Europe. The scientific spirit gave rise, 
too, to actual voyages of exploration into many regions ; and 
daring discoverers brought back from northern regions what 
seemed wild tales of icebergs gleaming in the cold aurora of 
the polar skies. 

The lighthouse built by the first Ptolemy on the island of 
Pharos, in the harbor of Alexandria, shows that the new 
civilization had begun to make practical use of science to 



298 THE GRAECO-ORIENTAL WORLD [§321 

advance human welfare. The tower rose 325 feet into the 
air, and from the summit a group of polished reflecting mirrors 
threw its light at night far out to sea. 

321. The Greek contributions to our civilization can hardly 
be named in detail as those of the Oriental nations. Egypt 
and Babylonia gave us some very important outer features. 
Greece as it were infused a ne^v spirit. Hers was essentially 
an educational task. In the development of all the purely 
secular branches of human knowledge and endeavor no nation 
has had an equally large share. The Greeks became the 
teachers of the Romans. " Conquered Greece caught her fierce 
conqueror." Roman poetry and oratory and whatever there 
was of Roman philosophy shaped itself after Greek models. 
And Rome passed on the treasure she had received to the 
peoples of the later centuries. Thus Greece through Rome is 
still teaching in our schools. The chief principles of Chris- 
tian philosophy were taken over bodily from the sages of the 
.^gean Sea. Greek education helped to prepare the world for 
the coming of Christianity and furnished the language in 
which the glad tidings of the Xew Testament were first 
written down in human speech. Yet Greek civilization w^as 
modified by the matter-of-fact genius of conquering and ruling 
Rome. It came to the largest part of Europe through the 
Romanized Celts, again to be affected by the mind of the 
Teutons. There is above all the paramount influence of the re- 
ligion of Jesus Christ with its Heaven-born truths and ideals. 
N"one of these factors may be omitted when judging of the in- 
fluence of Greece upon our present civilization. 



References for Further Study. — Specially suggested : Davis' 
Headings, Vol. I, Nos. 119-125 (19 pages, mostly from Polybius, Arrian, 
and Plutarch, the three Greek historians of that age). 

Additional: Plutarch's Lives ("Aratus," "Agis," "Cleomenes," 
"Philopoemen"), Mahaffy's Alexander's Empire. 

Exercise. — Review the various confederacies, — Peloponnesian, De- 
lian, Olynthian, Achaean, noting likenesses and contrasts. Review the 
period from Chaeronea to the death of Alexander by "catch words." 



§ 321] REVIEW EXERCISES 299 

REVIEW EXERCISES ON l^AHTS II AND III 

A. Fact Drills on Greek History 

1. The class should form a Table of Dates s^radually as the critical 
points are reached, and should then drill upon it until it says itself as the 
alphabet does. Tlie following dates are enough for this drill in Greek 
history. The table should be filled out as is done for the first two dates. 

776 B.C. First recorded Olympiad 338 B.C.. 

490 " Marathon 222 " 

405 " 146 " 

371 " 

2. Xame in order fifteen battles, between 776 and 146 b.c, stating for 
each the parties, leaders, result, and importance. (Such tables also 
should be made by degrees as the events are reached.) 

3. Explain concisely the follounu<i terms or names: Olympiads, 
Ephors, Mycenaean Culture, Olympian Religion, Amphictyonies, Sappho. 
{Let the class extend the list several fold.) 

B. Topical Reviews 

This is a good point at which to review certain "culture topics," — 
i.e., agriculture, industrial arts, life of rich and poor, philosophy, litera- 
ture, art, religion, science, — tracing each separately from the dawn of 
history. 

Make a table showing the chief divisions of Greek history, with sub- 
divisions. 



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